Violet Eyes
by xBeautifulDreamerx
Summary: He saved her, brought her back from the brink of death. The only thing was, she wasn't talking. While she was healing physically, could he help her to heal mentally? Will he be able to save her from herself and protect her from the ones that hurt her? They say eyes are the windows to the soul, but he had never seen eyes like hers. Rated M for possible adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N – First, I do not own any of The Walking Dead, only my original ideas. Secondly, this has been a story I've been wanting to write for a little while, and I'm going to work on it when I am not working on my other two, Promise to a Little Girl and Before and After. Let me know what you think!)**

Chapter one:

"_This is it. This is when I die,"_ she thought to herself as the men laughed. She had been minding her own business when they had come crashing through the trees and attacked her. She had been sitting there eating the last of her food when she heard them. When she looked up there were several men with wicked smiles on their faces until one man said, "Claimed."

Then she was on the ground, naked. The older man took his turn with her, cutting her clothes, sometimes cutting her skin with his hunting knife. She tried to scream, he slapped her and then covered her mouth. She tried to squirm, he brought his fist down to the side of her ribs and she swore something broke. When she realized she wasn't going to get away, that was when the man got up and another took his place. She had cried at first, but by the time the second man was done with her, she laid there, lifelessly.

They laughed and cheered each other on as they each took a turn and she focused on these purple flowers, flowers that her mother would have called weeds, which were growing a few feet from her. She watched them as her back scratched against the forest floor. She was getting black spots in her vision when she felt a weight lift off of her and heard a zipper close. She didn't dare look to see what they were doing. "What should we do wit' 'er?" she heard one man asked.

"Just leave her," a deeper voice said, "She'll be dead soon enough with all the freaks around." She listened to them laugh and as they left her there to die, and as they walked away she watched them trample her tiny purple flowers. She closed her eyes once, twice before she slowly turned her head to look up into the sky. The sun had past the middle and was now setting. _"At least I don't have to run anymore," _she thought to herself as one tear rolled out of the corner of her eyes. When she heard leaves crunch she closed her eyes and waited for the dead to rip into her flesh and take the last ounce of life she had. "Fuck," a man's voice made shivers run down her spine. She didn't remember this voice from before, but she didn't want to open her eyes in fear that they were back.

The crunch of leaves came closer until she swore she could hear his breath. She didn't flinch when a hand touched her neck. "Can ya hear me?" the voice said. She stayed quiet thinking that if she didn't respond he would let her die in peace. "Damn," she heard his voice next to her before the ground disappeared from under her. She felt something warm cover her naked body before she felt the warmth of his body to her right side. She felt his arms under her body and she bounced a little with every step he took. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. She shifted a little so her head wasn't on his shoulder and she could see him.

"Yer awake," he said, his step not faltering. When he looked down at her his eyes widened a little and his steps were uneven for a second before he recovered and continued walking normally without taking his eyes off of hers. He didn't comment, but she continued to watch him as he walked them through the forest. "I'm takin' ya back to ma camp to getcha checked out," he said looking back to the forest, "We're good people. Ya don't have to worry." She didn't move, but she could see him when he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes every now and then.

They weren't far away when he felt her head fall to his shoulder. He looked down at her and could tell by her shallow breathing that she was out cold. He hurried knowing that she might not wake back up if he didn't get her help. When he had found her there her one eye was almost swollen closed, her lip was split open and bleeding, she had dark circles under both eye and dried blood was around her nose, she had random bruises covering a majority of her body, and she was covered in dirt and blood and god knew what else. She was naked and hadn't even looked at him when he talked to her, on that note she hadn't said a word to him. She had looked dead, he had almost been sure that she was, but the moment he saw her eyes, he knew she was still alive. He just hoped that she would live long enough to heal both physically and mentally.

When she woke up the first thing she noticed was that she was lying on something soft, it almost felt like a bed. She listened for a moment, and when she didn't hear anyone around she opened her eyes. She winced when she did and found that she could only open one eye. She slowly sat up and found an IV in her right arm and she was in a bed. She ripped the blankets off of her and winced at the pain that radiated through her entire body. _"Where am I?"_ she screamed in her head as she looked around. She tore the tape and gauze off of her arm and started pulling the IV out.

"Woah there," she heard an older man's voice call out to her from across the room. He was holding himself up with a crutch but held his hands up in a manner that showed her he meant no harm. "My name is Hershel and you're safe here," he said stepping closer to her. She ripped the IV out of her arm before grabbing a set of scissors that had been sitting by the bed side on a table of different medical supplies. "Calm down," he said halting his movements, "What's your name?" She watched him with wide eyes, as wide as her one eye could go anyway.

"Dad?" a woman walked by the door, "Oh my god!"

"Maggie what is it?" another man's voice called out before an Asian man stood in the door way, "Hershel!"

"It's alright," he said loudly holding up a hand to them while never taking his eyes off of her. Hey eyes on the other hand darted between the three new people. Her hands shook as she held the scissors tighter and the blood made her arm feel sticky and she just wanted to get away. "You're safe here," the older man said and she studied him until the Asian man started moving. She quickly looked at him and moved the scissors to get ready to attack if he came closer. "Glenn!" the man yelled and the woman grabbed the younger man, Glenn, and pulled him back. "Go get Rick," she whispered but it was still audible in the small, jail cell?

The man disappeared and her eyes darted between the old man and woman for a long time. "Just put those down and we can talk," the man, Hershel, tried to reason with her. She shook her head no and put on hand up to the wall to steady herself. "Easy," he said stepping closer but she held the scissors up again. "You're just dehydrated," he tried to explain, but he knew that there was no talking her down right now. Maggie stood four steps behind Hershel and she was biting her lips trying to think of something to say when four people showed up in the door way. The girl back up when she saw them and her legs hit the bed.

"It's ok," a man with dark colored hair and a beard stepped forward.

"Rick," Hershel said looking to the new man, "She's scared and weak. She needs to lie down but we need everyone out of here or she's never going to relax. She's going to end up hurting herself." She watched as Rick held his hands up and moved a little closer. She moved to the other side of the room to put more space between them. Rick stopped moving and she looked at the other people in the doorway who were watching her with wide eyes. There was a woman with short grey hair, the Asian boy, a younger boy with a sheriff's hat on, and a blonde girl that stood next to Maggie. "Get outa here," Rick said to everyone that stood watching. Slowly, they stepped out of sight, but stayed around the corner so that they could hear what was happening.

"Wha's goin' on?" a man asked and she faintly remembered the voice.

"The girl you brought it is freaking out," Glenn said.

"Wha' the fuck happened?" she heard before the man from earlier stepped around the corner and entered the room.

"Daryl," Rick said without turning around, "This is the man that found you." She looked at him and he watched her. To him, she looked like a wild animal that was cornered, he knew that if they kept going closer to her that she would strike out at anything and everything she could. "Get away from 'er," Daryl said and Hershel walked back to the door as Rick nodded to Daryl's words before slowly moving out also. The two men stood in the door while Daryl slowly walked towards the girl.

She was shaking even more than before and now she was leaning against the wall to try and keep herself upright. "Hey," he drawled out and she tried to hold the scissors up, "Yer gonna fall 'nd get hurt." She looked around to try to find a way out and away. "Ya ain't gonna make it far," he said getting closer, he wasn't in arms distance, but she still felt cornered. "Come on," he said taking another small step forward, "Let us help ya." When he came even closer she just looked at him. Slowly he moved his hand and grabbed onto the scissors. She looked at him and slowly let go of the make-shift weapon. The moment they were out of her hand black slowly engulfed her. Daryl caught her before she hit the floor and he moved her back to the bed.

"Is she ok?" Hershel asked as he came to her bed side and re-started another IV.

"Passed out," Daryl said looking at her face, "She tell ya 'er name?"

"No," Hershel said as Rick pulled out some zip ties, "She never said a word."

"The hell ya think yer doin?" Daryl asked as Rick picked up her arm.

"She's dangerous," Rick said.

"She was scared," Hershel countered.

"I'll stay here with her til she wakes up again," Daryl offered. Rick looked at him before nodding and exiting the room. "Did you see her eyes?" Carl asked, "What's wrong with her?"

"Carl," Maggie scolded him. Daryl didn't react to the people talking in the hallway as he watched Hershel move over the girl, checking her injuries and re-bandaging what needed it. "She gonna be ok?" he asked Hershel.

"Physically?" Hershel asked sitting back into his chair to get off of his foot, "Yes. She should be fine if she gets enough rest. But mentally? I don't even know that." Daryl nodded and got comfortable on the other chair on the other side of the room. He didn't normally stay with the people he brought back, but he felt responsible for her, and he didn't even know her name.

After a little while Hershel left the room and the sun was starting to set. It had been almost three days since Daryl had brought her back and this was the first time she had woken up. The bruises that covered her body were an ugly shade of purple and when Hershel had worked on her he noticed that her cuts were finally scabbing over, and while it didn't look like she was going to scar to badly, he knew that she was going to have some of those marks on her for the rest of her life.

As he sat there and watched her toss and turn in her bed he actually looked at her instead of her injuries. Her hair was a deep black and her skin, that wasn't covered in marks, looked sun kissed. She was small, maybe 5'4 and couldn't weigh more than 130 pounds. And her eyes. Daryl had never seen anything like it before and it intrigued him. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but Daryl felt terrible thinking that because he didn't even know her name.

When he tossing turned into thrashing that was loud enough to wake Daryl up, he ran to her bed side. He took hold of her arms and shook her gently trying to wake her. She woke with a blood curdling scream that had Rick running into the room moments later followed by Glenn and Carol. They stood in the door way shocked as this girl clung to the front of Daryl's shirt and cried. Daryl's hands awkwardly held her to him as he tried to calm her down. Rick waved everyone off and told them to go back to bed. Once everyone was gone, he waited for Daryl to nod at him reassuringly before heading back to bed himself.

Daryl ran one hand through her mid-back length hair and she sniffled as she tried to stop crying. He did this a few more times until she stopped sniffing. When she pulled back from him she just stared at him. "Ya alright?" he asked feeling stupid for even asking a question like that. He knew what had happened to her when he had found her. And if he couldn't tell from what he saw, Hershel agreed that she had the signs of rape.

Slowly, she nodded at him and Daryl stood back up. He was going to go back to his chair, but he suddenly felt a hand pull on his shirt. He turned and she was looking up at him with tear filled eyes. "I'm not goin' anywhere," he said, and when she didn't let go, he pulled the chair Hershel had used earlier closer to the bed and sat down in it. She laid back down and turned on her side watching him watch her. He tried to give her an awkward smiled, but she didn't return it. Instead, they just watched each other until she drifted off to sleep.

When he was sure she was asleep, Daryl carefully moved some hair out of her face and stilled when she let out a small sigh. When he was certain she wasn't waking up he quickly pulled his hand back to himself before getting comfortable in the chair. He watched her until he fell asleep hoping that she wouldn't wake up again that night.

**(A/N – So there is the first chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it and please let me know what you think. Like I said, I've been wanting to write something like this for a while, but I'm not sure. So if this is something that you think that I should keep writing please let me know or I'll probably end up stopping and go back to my other stories. Thanks and lots of love!)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two:

When she woke up again she saw Daryl still asleep in the chair next to her bed. The sun light shone through the window and she took a deep breath and actually looked around to see where she was. She knew for certain she was in a jail cell, but as for where she was, she had no clue. "Yer awake," Daryl said shifting in the chair making her eyes dart to him.

She moved so she was sitting up and Daryl sat still as she looked over him confused. "I found ya," he said and she studied his face. He didn't want to move and frighten her, so even as she moved towards him, he didn't move away from her. He didn't even flinch when she placed a hand on his cheek and studied him more carefully.

Her fingers traced over the stubble that had grown on his cheeks and gently moved over his beard and her fingers brushed lightly over his bottom lip. He swallowed as he tried not to jerk away from her touch. She moved up his face lightly and when his hair brushed her knuckles she gently brushed his hair to the side to see his face better, then did the same to the other side.

"Yer safe here," he said again as her hand stayed on his cheek. Daryl continued to look into her eyes as she looking over him. "What's yer name?" he asked and she took her hand away from his face and looked down at her hands in her lap. "It's ok girl," he said taking a breath and siting back finally letting himself get comfortable, "Ya ain't gotta talk to nobody."

She nodded and looked back up at him as Hershel entered the room and she stiffened making Daryl turn to see what she was looking at. "It's ok," Daryl said looking back to her, "He's a doctor. He's helpin' to take care of ya." She nodded and Hershel smiled at her.

"How are we feeling today?" Hershel asked. Daryl got up from the chair and Hershel pulled it back some before sitting down. Daryl saw her eyes danced from him to Hershel but her eyes said more than she could ever say. He'd seen that look before on every animal he'd ever trapped. It wasn't weakness and fear, but desperation that burned bright in her eyes. That desperation made her dangerous because she would do anything to get away if she felt threatened.

She nodded her head once but never took her eyes off of him. Daryl leaned against the wall, but as long as Hershel was there he wasn't going to let the man be alone with her like this. "Will you tell me your name sweetheart?" Hershel asked. She looked at him but didn't respond. "She ain't gonna talk," Daryl said crossing his arms in front of his chest before bringing his one hand to his mouth and chewing on the skin. She glanced up at him then back to Hershel. "Alright," he said and moved but stopped when she drew back, "I'm going to look you over ok? Think you can nod your head to answer some questions?"

She nodded and Hershel asked her to lay down. She straightened her body, but didn't relax as she kept her eyes trained on Hershel. "I have to ask you some questions," he said moving slowly over her injuries that were wrapped and bandaged and stitched, "Have you killed anyone?"

She looked up to Daryl then quickly back to Hershel before shaking her head no. "Alright," Hershel said and changed out some bandages, "Have you killed any walkers?" When she looked at him and didn't respond he clarified, "The dead. Have you killed any? Do you know how many?" Slowly, she nodded her head yes then shook her head no to the second question. "I guess you're not going to tell me why?" he smiled at her and she nodded her head once. "Alright," he said finishing re-wrapping al of her injuries that he could see, then he turned to Daryl, "Can you leave for a moment, I want to get to her other injuries." Daryl looked at her then back to Hershel before nodding and walking out of the cell.

"I have to ask you," Hershel said moving to her injuries that were hidden by the gown they had dressed her in, "Your eyes. Is there a medical condition I need to know about?" She raised her eye brow at Hershel asking him what he was talking about. "Your eyes dear," he said, "Why are the purple." The corner of her mouth rose up a little to give Hershel a small smile, then it fell and she shook her head no. He understood there was nothing medically wrong with her and he continued his check of her injuries.

When he was done he sat back up straight to relax his back and called for Daryl to re-enter the room. Daryl walked in and took his position against the wall from earlier. He looked over to her and scanned her body quickly as she sat back up and pressed her back against the wall. "She ok?" he asked.

"She'll be good as new if a few days," Hershel said standing up. He turned to walk out of the cell and put a hand on Daryl's shoulder before exiting. Daryl walked over to the chair and turned it so the back was facing her, then he straddled it. "Feelin' any better?" he asked trying to make her comfortable. She slowly nodded her head then stood to walk to the door where she moved aside the sheet that was used as a make-shift door. Hershel had taken out her IV and because she was able to drink, so she felt better moving around. "Whatcha doin' girl?" Daryl asked and she turned around to face him, "That ok? Me callin' ya girl?" She nodded her head and moved the sheet again to look out. She didn't dare move out of the room, but she watched as people moved around her.

Children ran and played while mothers handed out food to the people that stood in line. It was raining that day and when she took a deep breath she could smell the rain cleaning the earth. "We usually do that outside," Daryl said as he walked up behind her, "It's raining today so everyone came in." She watched the people for a while long before moving back to the bed. Daryl watched her as she limped back to the bed, as she moved as if she was just learning to walk again. She sat down and he saw the pain flicker behind her eyes.

"Water?" he asked and she nodded. He handed her the glass that was on the table that, after she tried to attack everyone, had been cleared of anything that could have been dangerous. He watched her as she raised the cup to her lips and he felt a twinge of hatred to whoever did this to her as he took in the cut that was still healing there. Most of her injuries were covered up, but they didn't hide the ugly bruises that decorated her skin. Daryl wanted to kill whoever did this to her, but when he thought about leaving her, he almost felt bad. Daryl didn't stay around the people he brought back, and he was finding it beyond strange that he wanted to stay with this girl.

Daryl continued to watch her as she put her glass down and laid back down to rest her head on the pillow. He assumed that he didn't mind being around her because she didn't talk. He usually stayed away from women for that reason, however he didn't mind being around Carol lately, Maggie had helped him on several runs and they worked well together so he couldn't complain about that either, and while Beth did get on his nerves sometimes when she sang she wasn't the worse person to be around. But this girl, she never talked, but her eyes said everything to him that he wanted to know.

She was able to look at him and he knew how she felt and what she was thinking. He could tell that she wasn't weak and that, if her back was against the wall, she would be able to stand her own. She was hyper aware of everything that was happening around her, and the only thing that Daryl wished he could change was the pain that flashed through her eyes whenever someone got to close to her. He knew that look, he knew he use to look the same way. Before he found this group, before his brother was taken from him, he had felt the same way. He didn't let anyone close to him, but now, now he had a family and he didn't want to lose any more of them.

"I have ta go soon," he said and her eyes shot open and locked onto his eyes. He saw fear in her eyes and he knew that she didn't want to be around anyone else. She didn't trust them yet. "I'm gonna send Maggie in here wit' ya fer a while," he said standing up, "She's to doc's daughter. Ya'll like her. I'll be back." And with that he left her to her thoughts.

She stood up and walked to the mirror and looked at herself. She smirked at her eyes and knew that everyone would be asking about them. How many people had Alexandria's Genesis after all? She had been born with gray eyes, but when as she got older her eyes turned a bright purple, and then when she hit puberty they turned violet. For the longest time she was either envied or made fun of, she never grew hair on her arms legs or privates, and she was fertile but never menstruated. As first she thought herself a freak, but the older she got, the prouder she got at who she was. It took a long time to convince herself that she was beautiful, and now, as she looked in the mirror, she couldn't see anything that even resembled beauty.

Tears stung her eyes and she quickly turned away not wanting to see herself any longer. And there, in the doorway, stood Daryl. He didn't say anything to her, but she knew he had seen her. She could see in his eyes that he understood what she was feeling, but she felt embarrassed. She looked away from him and walked to her bed and sat down looking at her bare, cut and bruised feet. Maggie walked in moments later. "Hey," Maggie said then turned to Daryl, "What's her name?"

"Just been callin' her girl," he said then walked over to her, "Yer gonna be ok." She nodded to him then watched him as he walked out of the cell and left Maggie and her together, alone. "Don't get me wrong," Maggie said sitting down in the chair by the bed and smiling, "Daryl's a nice guy, but I'm not going to call you girl."

She gave Maggie a soft smile and Maggie returned it. "How about Jane?" Maggie suggested. She tilted her head to the side and looked at Maggie. "Like Jane Doe? You know when people are found and don't have a name?" She shook her head no at Maggie and frowned. She had a name, she just didn't think it was the most important thing right now. "Alright, fair enough," Maggie laughed then looked at her eyes, "How about Violet?" She nodded a yes to Maggie understanding why she had picked the name.

Violet didn't want to talk to anyone, she didn't really want to be around anyone. That was why she had liked Daryl. She didn't need to say anything to him, but he understood. They could sit there in silence and it was alright, she felt safe. But Maggie wasn't very threatening either.

"Ok," Maggie said then looked around the room, "How about a game?" She studied Maggie for a moment then nodded to her. "Cards? Rummy?" Maggie asked and Jane nodded again. Maggie had everything set up and while they played Maggie told her different stories about the farm that they had all started at, Maggie talked about people that they had lost, and while Maggie lost most games Violet liked listening to her talk. Maggie didn't treat her like a basket case, she didn't treat her as if she was dangerous, and she didn't keep asking if she was ok.

Grant it, no one had been around her long enough to ask her if she was ok over and over again, but it was what people did. And everyone that has seen her yesterday had acted like she was a psychopath, but then again, she did threaten them with scissors. "Do you want me to see if I can find some clean clothes for you?" Maggie asked when they ended another game. Violet nodded and Maggie stood up and stretched. "Ok," Maggie said, "I'll be right back." She sat on the bed and started a game of solitaire while she waited for Maggie to come back.

When Maggie did she placed the clothes down on the bed and she took them with a smile. Maggie stepped out of the cell and Violet quickly pulled on a pair of black boy short underwear, slipped on the jeans that were just a little too big, looped the belt through the loops and tightened it, put on a black bra that fit her well after she adjusted the straps and then pulled on a black tank top and a light pink knit sweater still laid on the bed. It was hot in the cell, even with the rain, but she decided to pull it on anyway. She felt naked.

Maggie walked in when she was getting settled back onto the bed. "You hungry?" Maggie asked. Violet nodded and stood up, but when she saw all the people that had gathered for dinner she took a step back. Maggie looked at her curiously, then said, "I'll go get some food and we'll eat here."

Again, Violet was sitting alone. She walked around the small cell and when Maggie came in she took the bowl and hurried to the bed and started eating. She didn't know what she was eating, but it didn't matter when Daryl walked into the cell still damp from being outside. She looked up to him and gave him a small smile and Daryl nodded back to her. Maggie said hello and then took the empty bowls downstairs leaving Daryl and her alone again.

**(A/N – So I hadn't planned on giving her a name yet, but I didn't want it to get to confusing when more people start coming into the picture. Special thanks to:**

**Tangy Orange and **

**Ibreatheyouin **

**For your lovely reviews and encouragement! Keep letting me know what you think!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N – When it's just Daryl and the girl, I will refer to her as girl because that's what Daryl calls her, when other people are around, I will refer to her as Violet. So I'm already getting reviews and followers on this story and I hope that the number continues to grow. I am going to continue to work on this story and with any luck, and if I keep getting followers and reviews, I'll try to update either every Tuesday or Friday. Enjoy!)**

Chapter 3:

Daryl had gone out to the forest where he had found her and had looked around to see if he could find the man that had done this to her. When he got there, he was shocked. Because of the rain most of the tracks had been washed away, but from what he found he could tell that it hadn't been just one man. There had been a group of them that did this to her. He knew that the cuts on her body where made by hunting knives, some of which he actually use to own, so he knew what the cuts looked like. He knew they had left her there for dead.

He walked around the forest attempting to follow the tracks and killed what prey he could find alone the way. He told himself that he was doing it because he wanted to make sure that everyone in the prison would be safe if they left the prison gates. The trail didn't go too far before he found the elements and washed it away, and he went back early. He hadn't realized how long he had been gone until he returned to find everyone eating dinner. He grabbed some food and talked to Rick and some of the people that they had taken in from Woodbury, for some reason they never left him alone.

He saw Maggie come down from the cell that they were keeping girl in, get some clothes, and then get them food before reentering the cell. He waited to see if Maggie would come back out, and when she didn't, Daryl finished eating, deposited his bowl, then headed back up to see her, just like he had promised her. He took his time climbing the stairs to the cell wondering if she had talked to Maggie after spending almost an entire day together, but he doubted it.

When he had entered the cell he saw girl's eyes light up a little. He nodded to her and when Maggie started to leave, she said, "Bye Violet." Daryl turned and looked at Maggie. "She told ya her name?" he asked.

"No," Maggie said shaking her head then looked back to the girl on the bed playing with the cards, "But I didn't want to just call her 'girl' or 'hey you', so I asked her if I could call her Violet. She nodded, so that's what I've been callin' her. At least she has a name though," Maggie said with a heavy sight. Daryl nodded and Maggie took that as a sign that he was done talking, and she left the two alone.

"Hey girl," he said walking over to the chair and sitting down like he had before. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile before looking back down to her game. He watched her play for a little while and wondered if she would be comfortable with Rick or Glenn in here with her. He didn't really understand why she felt, rather looked, comfortable around him and no one else. Usually people opened right up to Hershel Rick and Glenn, but she looked as if she wanted to run whenever they had come near her.

Just as he was thinking that he heard Rick call from the door and let her know that he was entering. Daryl hadn't taken his eyes off of her as she shot up straight on the bed as soon as she heard Rick. Rick walked in and was shocked when he saw Daryl still sitting in there. "Feelin' any better?" Rick asked and stopped when she started backing closer to the wall as he walked further into the room. Rick turned his attention on Daryl. "Has she said anything to you?" he asked Daryl. Daryl shook his head no then stood up to talk to Rick. Daryl nodded to the hallway then Rick followed him out. When they were out of earshot Daryl turned to Rick. "I followed the tracks," Daryl said having already talked to Rick that day about what he was planning on doing.

"Did you find anything?" Rick said walking to the railing and looking out of the people that were starting to clear out after dinner.

"Naw," Daryl said walking up and spotting Beth singing a song to Judith. Few people knew what had happened to the girl, other than she had been attacked, but the few who knew were worried. "Most a the tracks were washed away," Daryl continued then turned to look at Rick, "But it wasn't just one guy." This got Rick's attention and he turned quickly to look at Daryl. Rick ran a hand through his hair and paced for a moment before turning back to Daryl. "How many? Did the tracks show they were comin' this way?" Rick asked.

"Naw, they ain't comin' this way," Daryl said looking to the door of the cell the girl was still sitting in, "Looked like five, maybe more."

"We don't tell the women this," Rick said locking eyes with Daryl, "Not yet at least. We need to get the council together and talk this over. Until then, hell even after then, nobody goes out alone anymore." Daryl nodded and Rick placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good job," Rick said and Daryl nodded to him one more time before the officer turned and left.

Daryl watched the former sheriff walk away and felt relieved that Rick was starting to act more like himself, for a while, Daryl had been worried about the man. He waited until Rick was gone and then he walked into the cell. When he did the first thing that he saw was a set of violet eyes burning up at him. She wasn't crying, but he could see the emotions clearly on her face. "Ya heard me," Daryl said, not bothering to ask. She nodded once and then looked away and back down to her cards. He saw one tear fall down onto the bed and then watched as she used her sleeves to clean her face. "Shit girl," he said sitting down in the chair but not looking at her, "I'm sorry." She looked up at him and just looked at him for a long moment before nodding, then her facial features relaxed and she looked down to her cards.

He watched her for a long moment and when she hadn't moved a card he asked, "Stuck?" She glanced up at him and then nodded. He leaned forward and she stiffened, but she didn't move back as she had when Rick had come close to her. He moved one card to another and she sighed before continuing her game and shot a small smile to Daryl. He watched as she matched the rest of the cards up and wondered if she would ever leave this cell. "Did ya want me ta get Maggie so she can take ya to clean up?" he asked thinking that she would want to wash after sitting in a bed for three days. She looked up at him and he saw uncertainty in her eyes. "Ya don't have ta," he said but didn't look away from her. She didn't look back up at him but she shook her head no.

Daryl leaned back in the chair and watched her play another round before she shuffled the cards and then held them out to play. "What do ya want ta play?" he asked and watched her while she just looked at him with her head tilted to the side. He didn't blame her for not talking, but at that moment he realized that this wasn't always going to be so easy. "Alright," he said and started shuffling, "Black jack." She nodded and they started playing.

When the sun had set and they had to turn the small lantern on Daryl stood up. She looked up at him with her head tilted the side and a question in her eyes. "I gotta get ta bed," he said and stretched a little. She looked down at the cards and then back up at him and he knew she wanted him to stay, but he could also see that she knew he needed a bed. "I don't sleep in a cell," he said and she raised an eye brow, "Don't wanta sleep in a cage. If ya need me I'm out of here and ta the left, ya'll see me. I'd tell ya to go get Maggie bet her and Glenn have a cell…" he trailed off not sure why he was going into so much detail. She nodded and gave him another small smile which made him smirk back at her.

"Night," he said and turned to head out. He heard the bed move and then she was grabbing his arm. He looked at her, "What?" She crossed her legs a little and he thought she looked like a child but realized she had no clue where the bathroom was. When she was asleep Hershel and Maggie had taken care of that, but now he knew he'd have to take her. She pulled shoes out from under her bed, ones that Maggie had slipped under her bed before, and then followed Daryl out of her cell.

She was very cautious when she left the cell, pausing to make sure that there was no one else out there. Daryl didn't rush her, but he watched her, intrigued. She took small careful steps and when she was sure no one else was there she caught up to Daryl, almost bumping into him as he stopped at the top of the stairs. She noticed a bed and looked up at him. "Yeah that's me," he said then walked down the stairs and turned his flash light on. She followed him as he took different turns down the halls until they reached the bathroom.

"Here it is," Daryl said as they heard the water turn off from inside the bathroom. They waited and soon an older woman with shorter gray hair walked out and smiled at Daryl. Her smile faltered for a second when she saw girl, but she regained her composure. However, neither Daryl nor girl missed her reaction. "This is Carol," he said motioning to the lady.

"Hello," Carol said attempting to be friendly, "I didn't catch your name."

Girl opened her mouth as if she was going to answer, then closed her mouth and looked down at her feet. "Maggie calls her Violet," Daryl spoke up.

"For your eyes?" Carol chuckled and Daryl didn't understand why that upset him, "Well it's nice to meet you Violet." She nodded then rushed past Carol to the bathroom, careful not to come to close to her.

"She seems odd," Carol said after Violet had disappeared.

"She ain't," Daryl said shocking himself for defending the girl, "Been through hell."

"We all have," Carol said still looking at Daryl, "You sure it's safe for her to be out here?"

"She ain't gonna hurt nobody," Daryl said finally looking at this girl.

"We don't know anything about her," Carol said softly.

"She ain't gonna hurt nobody," Daryl said again more firmly, "She just ain't use ta this yet."

"I don't know Daryl," Carol said taking a step closer to him, "There's just something in her eyes that I don't trust. She looks… dangerous." Daryl looked away from the woman that he had grown fond of. He cared for her as a mother, he enjoyed being around her. The two joked and talked whenever they were together, and she seemed to understand him. They had grown close ever since she had lost her daughter, but at this moment she was starting to piss him off. Girl wasn't dangerous as long as no one cornered her or attacked her. He knew she wasn't going to hurt anyone unless she felt threatened.

"She's fine," he said in a tone that told Carol that this conversation was over.

"Alright," she said and started walking away before casually throwing over her shoulder, "Night…pookie." When she was out of sight he smirked at the nickname she used to ruffle his feathers. A few seconds later girl walked out with her head hung low. She didn't look at Daryl when she walked out, and he didn't push her. When he started walking she followed after, more slowly this time, and a few steps behind him instead of next to him. "What's goin' on?" he finally asked when they got to her cell. She didn't look up at him, and for some reason that upset him.

"Girl," he said and she slowly looked up at him, her black hair falling away from her face. He watched her as her eyes finally settled on his face. "What's goin' on?" he asked seeing the pain in her eyes. She quickly looked away again and he knew what was wrong. "Don't worry bout her," he said sighing when he realized how Carol looked through girl's eyes. Girl nodded and turned to enter her cell. "Hey," Daryl called to her not wanting to reach out and touch her, but when she looked at him he didn't know what he was going to say so he settled for, "Night." She gave him a slight smile, and he saw it didn't touch her eyes just as the other smiles she had given to people today hadn't, she nodded and headed into her cell letting the sheet fall down behind her.

Daryl knew that Rick wanted them to lock her in the room when no one was with her until they knew she was able to be trusted, but Daryl couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that if she got up at night, he would hear her, but more then that, for some strange reason, he trusted her. He shrugged it off and climbed into his bed. Daryl folded his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling until he feel asleep. His dreams were filled with burning violet eyes that left him with an unsettling feeling.

Daryl woke suddenly and sat up in his bed rubbing one hand over his face roughly. He looked around and noticed that girl had woken up and was sitting at the railing looking out the windows at the night sky. He huffed as he got out of his bed and her head snapped over to him. He saw an apology in her eyes but he shook his head and she nodded knowing that he wasn't upset and it wasn't her fault that he woke up. He walked over and sat next to her, not really needing a light because the full moon let it enough light that even in the dark, he could see her.

As he got comfortable on the floor he looked out the window and after a moment he turned to see that she had been watching him. She was studying him as he sat there and he wondered what she could be thinking. Her eyes sparkled in the moon light and he swore he had never seen a woman with eyes like hers, and he wasn't just thinking about the color, her eyes said more then words ever could. Her face conveyed all the emotions that she felt and she didn't hide it. He knew that if, when, she talked she would be brutally honest. He wasn't sure how he knew that, but he did. She smiled at him and he swore it was the first real smile he had seen since he found her. He gave her a half smile back and she looked back out to the night sky.

It was his turn to study her and as his eyes skimmed her body he saw her shiver. Silently he stood and she watched him as he walked to his bed before walking back and placing his blanket around her shoulders. She smiled at him again and he swore at that moment he would do anything he could to keep that smile on her face. When she smiled her eyes lit up brighter then the full moon and the stars that lit up the night sky. He would never admit it to anyone, or really to himself, but he would rather look at her strange eyes than up at the night sky.

They sat there like that until the sun started to rise and she looked over to him and tried to cover her yawn. She made a small squeaking sound and Daryl almost laughed at it, she must have seen that he was fighting a laugh because she turned a bright pink. "Goin' to bed?" he asked and she nodded standing up and stretching out. She smiled at him one more time before turning to head back to bed. She froze when she heard footsteps and seconds later Hershel appeared. "Just goin' to bed?" he asked and she turned red again before nodding and hurrying into her cell.

"How's she doin'?" Hershel asked.

"Same," he said before walking over to his bed, "Gonna get some more sleep 'fore goin' out."

"Alright," Hershel smiled at the hunter before walking down the stairs and out to the field to start his work. Daryl fell asleep faster than he had in a long time.

**(A/N- Special thanks tooooooo:**

**Tangy Orange for sticking with the story! Thank you for letting me know about the slip!**

**DanathaKettu for coming back for chapter 2!**

**Thank you for reading please let me know what you're thinking about the story!)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

When Daryl woke up again that day he turned to his side and rubbed both hands over his face then up through his hair. He didn't open his eyes right away as he felt how greasy his hair has become and sighed knowing that he was going to have to take a shower. He didn't like showering with everyone else, and most time he ended up taking one at night when everyone had gone to sleep, but he hadn't wanted to go last night when she was still knew here. She had been in the jail for five days now, but she didn't know anything about it. Maybe today she would be able to go outside. He shifted to his side and smelled something good.

He opened his eyes and meet a set of stunning violet eyes and light pink cheeks. She smiled to him quickly but she looked jumpy. She was sitting by his bed side but with her back against the wall. "Hey girl," he said sitting up and seeing that she was holding out a bowl to him. He looked down and saw that breakfast was just starting and it seemed that she had gone down there and brought food up for him. "Ya went down there by yerself?" he asked taking the bowl from her. She nodded and watched as people started getting up and walking by them. "Ya alright?" he asked looking at the scrambled eggs and hash browns on his plate. He saw her shake her head yes and he started eating. Half way through his food he looked up at her to see she was watching him eat. "Did ya eat anythin'?" he asked. She shook her head no.

"Ya need to eat," he said and she looked away from him, "Ya don't wanta go down there now cause of everyone?" She nodded and flinched when someone walked by her. "Ain't no one gonna hurt ya here girl," he said and finished his food. She looked up at him and he saw in her eyes that she wanted to believe him, but she couldn't. A dad with his two daughters walked by and Daryl watched as girl forced herself back into the corner and pulled her legs up to her chest.

"Ya wanta go outside today?" he asked her thinking that the fresh air would be good for her. She looked at him and then looked at all the people. "Ya'll be with me, no body gonna bother us," he tried saying anything to get her out of her. She looked like a caged animal and he knew it was a matter of time before she snapped, just like any wild animal that was locked up too long. She looked back to him and nodded slowly, but didn't smile.

Daryl got up and went into the cell he kept his things in and changed before going back to girl's cell. When he had gotten up from his bed she had hurried back into her room and she sat there on the edge of the bed and listened as everyone walked back. She could see their feet move past the sheet when they walked close to the cell door, but other than that she couldn't see them and they couldn't see her. But she could hear them when they walked by and she wondered if they thought that the sheet blocked out noise. Sometimes they lowered their voices' to a whisper, but she knew they were talking about her. Other times, they weren't so kind, and they talked loud enough for her to hear every word.

As a man and woman, judging by their voices, walked by she heard them talk about how they didn't feel safe with a psycho living next to them, that was when Daryl had walked in. One look at her and he knew that something was wrong. He had heard everyone as they had walked by, and with the look she was giving him, he knew she had heard them too. "Damn," he said walking over to her and stopping when he reached her bed, he had never really been good and comforting someone, and he didn't really know what to do, especially since he knew she didn't want to be touched.

She studied him as he stood there, waiting for him to move, and after a moment he sighed before sitting down in the chair next to her. "Don't let 'em get ta ya," he said looking from her to the door as more people walked by. Their voices dropped to a whisper and Daryl frowned as she brought her knees up to her chest and held them to her. "Come on," he said standing up faster than he had planned and watched as she jumped a little. He felt a pang of hurt when he saw that he had made her flinch and wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't as comfortable around him as he had thought, or if it was because he felt bad for scaring her. Probably a little bit of both he decided as he stepped back and she slowly stood up from the bed.

He started to leave and noticed that she was following him with her head down. He stopped and she actually ran into him and then looked up at him apologetically and she looked a little scared. "Stop it girl," he said and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, when she didn't pull away he continued, "They don't know ya, don't let 'em get ta ya. They act like this ta everyone that's new here. It'll get better." She watched him as he talked and he saw the fear leave her eyes before she nodded and gave him a small smile that made her eyes glitter for just a moment.

Daryl quickly took his hand away when she smiled at him and then turned and continued walking. This time she followed him with her head help up to see everyone. The minute they left the room though he could almost see her retreat into herself. He slowed so that she was walking next to him instead of behind him, and whenever someone looked at her to long Daryl scowled at them and they turned away. She noticed this, and when no one was looking she allowed herself a small smile. This man knew nothing about her, yet he was defending her.

As they walked through the prison and out to the yard she was amazed at how many people were here. Everyone seemed happy and relaxed while they did their work for the day, and to be honest, things weren't too bad here. She had been with a group once, early on, but after their camp was raided by the dead, then by the living, she found that she did better on her own. It had been hard for a little while, but she never had very many friends, and she was an only child of an only child so not a lot of family. So when she had no choice in this terrible new world, she found that it wasn't as hard to be on her own as she had originally thought it would be.

"Ya gonna be ok with leavin' the prison?" Daryl asked snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked at Daryl and then out to the trees. When he saw that she was hesitant he added, "I went back." She knew he was talking about where he had found her. "I followed the tracks," he said, "They went right pass here. I followed 'em, they went in the other direction. Didn't show sign a comin' back either." She blinked back tears, she didn't want Daryl anywhere near those men, and she hadn't wanted him to know about how many men there had been. When he had talked to Rick outside of her cell she knew he had been there, but she didn't know all of this. "Ya still want to go?" he asked. She nodded and he walked to the gate.

"Hey," Daryl called out to Maggie and Glenn that were standing by the gate, "Goin' out."

"Violet too?" Maggie asked looking at Glenn then back to Daryl and Violet.

"Yeah," he said walking closer, "She needs to get out."

"You sure?" Glenn asked eyeing Violet.

"Yeah," Daryl said tugging his cross bow that had been resting on his shoulder since he had changed this morning. "Give me a knife," he said still looking at Glenn who now shifted his eyes to Daryl.

"What happened to yours?" Glenn asked.

"I'm gonna need it," Daryl said resting his hand on the hunting knife that rested against his hip, "She's gonna need somethin', just in case." Daryl said the last part more for her. He wanted her to be able to protect herself and he wanted her to know that he wasn't going to throw her out there with no way to defend herself. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Glenn asked.

"Glenn," Maggie scolded before walking up to Violet. Violet took a small step back, but when Maggie held out her knife, Violet stepped forward and slowly reached out her hand. The moment that her fingers wrapped around the knife she jerked her hand back and Maggie gave her a smile. "Here," she said undoing the snaps for the knife holster, "Use this." Violet took it and snapped it on her belt before sliding the knife safely into it.

"Maggie," Glenn started to say but stopped when he saw the look that she shot him. Maggie and Glenn then moved to cover Daryl and Violet as the exited the prison. Daryl noticed right away that girl didn't seem as afraid when she had a way to defend herself. "Ya know how ta use that?" he asked as they entered the tree line. He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye and he continued to walk.

They walked through the woods until the sun was in the middle of the sky marking noon. Daryl used a bandana to wipe away the sweat that had formed on his forehead making his hair stick to it. He turned and looked at girl who was leaning against the tree, sweat dripping from her face which was bright red, sleeves of her sweater pushed up to her elbows, and her hair tied up into a bun on top of her head. But even with her hair tied up tendrils fell down sticking to her face and neck. "What the hell?" Daryl said walking up to her. She was breathing hard and glanced up at him before sliding down the tree. He caught her arms in his hands and helped her to sit down on the forest floor. "What's wrong with ya? Take that damn thing off," he said and tugged at her sweater.

She swatted his hands away quickly and tried to pull away but got light headed. "Come on," he said, "Ain't no one else gonna see ya. Just me. Ya trust me don't ya girl?" She nodded her head but still wouldn't take off the sweater. Daryl stood up and pulled water out of the pack he had and gave her the bottle. She closed her eyes as she took a drink. He knew that if she kept it up she would pass out or end up with heat stroke. "Alright," he said leaning down and balancing on one knee, "We'll do this together. I never take ma shirt off when people can see me. I know why ya don't wanta take yers off. But ya need ta and I ain't gonna make ya do it alone. Both of us gonna do it. At least ya'll still have a shirt on. Yer safe with me. I ain't gonna let nothin' happen ta ya. Ok?" She started at him for a moment wondering what he could be talking about.

Slowly he stood and turned so his back was to her. He didn't know why he was doing this, well he didn't want to admit it to himself, but what he did know was that she was going to get hurt if he didn't do something. He tugged his shirt off roughly and stuffed it into his pack. She looked up at him when she saw his shirt come up and what she saw startled her. But when Daryl finally turned to face her, and when he finally was able to look her in the eyes, he saw nothing but understanding. She nodded, then pulled her sweater off, struggling for a moment but he didn't dare help her. When she got it off, she sighed and leaned her head back against the tree. She kept her eyes open as Daryl took the water and wetted a rag before handing it to her. She cleaned up the best she could and then Daryl poured some water over her head. She wiped away the water so that it didn't get into her eyes and then as a breeze blew through the trees she sighed as the water and air cooled her skin.

"Let me know when ya are ready to get goin' again," Daryl said sitting down and leaning against a tree that was in front of her. Their feet were a few inches apart and she knew that Daryl would protect her, even when he closed his eyes, she didn't feel like she needed to be as on alert. She looked him over and took in how the sweat glistened on his skin, that tattoos that she could see, and the small marks that littered his chest that you wouldn't see unless you were close and you were looking for them. She knew those marks, her neighbor had them when they were growing up. Child services had taken him away shortly after she had found out, but she knew that wasn't the story for Daryl.

Slowly she drank the water and tossed it to Daryl. They sat there until the sun moved out of the middle of the sky, marking the end of the hottest part of the day. She nudged his foot with her's, and when he went to get up she nodded over to the other side of him. He looked and saw a doe standing there, he had thought he heard something early, but it wasn't human, or walker, and he hadn't focused on it. He just sat there and relaxed, something he found himself doing less and less lately with all the new people around.

Carefully he shifted and pulled his bow to aim. When he did, she hardly had a chance to blink when an arrow sunk into the animal's flesh making it jerk before he shot it once more and fell to the ground. Daryl stood and held a hand out to her. "Come on girl," he said and she smiled before taking his hand and letting him pull her up. He nodded to her and they walked over to the doe to take care of it and take it back to the prison, but when girl kneeled down she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She turned and gasped making Daryl look up. There in front of them, with wide brown eyes, stood a shaking fawn.

**(A/N – Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Special thanks to: **

**Tangy Orange**

**I always love seeing your reviews! And it just wouldn't be Daryl without a little awkwardness! Thank you for staying with the story and thank you to all of those followers and favorites for this story! Let me know what you think!)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five:

Girl didn't move as the small animal locked eyes with her. Her one hand moved slowly towards Daryl and her fingers slowly wrapped around his wrist. She hadn't moved her eyes to see if Daryl was watching and she hoped that her grip on his hand would make him notice the scared animal. She felt his hand move slightly in her hand and she knew he was watching.

Slowly, the small animal moved forward, it's ears twitching to hone in on any sounds that could be from a threat. It moved slowly pass Girl and then in front of Daryl before it stopped at the mother's side. Daryl turned to look at Girl and found her staring at him with tears in her eyes. He gave her a slow nod as the deer nudged its mother with it's small black nose. Daryl watched as the tear fell from her eye and slid down her face as the deer made a small noise and nudged its mother again. Daryl knew from the size of the deer that it was either weaned from the mother, or it was close to being weaned.

Daryl slowly pulled Girl's fingers off of his wrist before picking some berries from the bush that the mother had been eating from and slowly placed half down close to the fawn. The fawn watched him with wide eyes before inching closer to the food Daryl left on the ground. It sniffed the berries while watching Daryl before taking a few into its mouth and chewing them. Slowly the fawn looked away from Daryl and concentrated on the food. Girl took a breath and realized that she hadn't been breathing. When the deer was done eating the ones that were on the ground it looked back up to her and Daryl. "Here," Daryl said taking hold of Girl's wrist and holding her hand palm up before putting the berries in her hand and holding her hand out towards the deer. She whipped her head to look at Daryl who was holding a finger to his lips and nodded toward the deer.

When Girl looked back the deer's nose was inches away from her finger tips and she could feel the hot breath over her finger's as it slowly stepped closer. She tried to keep her hand from trembling, but the more she tried to hold still the more her hand seemed to move. The deer eyed her for a moment before it's eyes flitted back to her hand. Her breath caught in her throat as the deer moved so close she could reach out and hug it. Slower than it had when it ate the berries off of the ground, it began to eat from her hand.

Her tears had stopped and now she couldn't seem to pull her eyes from the deer. She was smiling as the deer ate from her hand and he realized it was a smile that he had only seen once before. He watched her face carefully and found himself thinking about who she must have been before he found her. He wondered if she had pets, or if she somehow found a way to stay connected to nature. He wondered this because of how at peace she seemed to be in this moment and knew that this wasn't the first time that she had found herself so close to nature.

When the deer was done Daryl picked some more berries and slowly stood up with the deer sniffing after him. He grabbed Girl's hand and she stumbled from getting up so quickly and momentarily startled the deer. The deer jumped away, but it's hunger soon won out and it started to follow them. Daryl could see the question in Girl's eyes, but he knew that she would understand in a moment. He placed all the berries in her hand and stood to the side while the deer worked its way back over to her. It didn't take as long this time for the deer to get comfortable with her, and the moment that it started eating, Daryl moved soundlessly back to the mother.

Girl lifted her eyes just for a second to see that Daryl was back by the mother and preparing it to take the meat back to the prison. Normally she wouldn't have cared about the deer, after all it had been a big part of her life before this, but now, while she fed the small deer her stomach twisted in guilt. She tried not to think about it so she could keep the tears at bay, so she slowly reached out her hand and touched the deer's snout as it licked up a berry. It watched her as it chewed and closed its one eye as her hand moved up and over it's head. It didn't pull away, so Girl continued to pet it.

Daryl watched her out of the corner of his eye as he worked over the deer. He was almost half way through when girl ran out of berries. He could see her petting it and wondered if the animal would have let anyone else pet it as she was right then. He focused more on the job at hand so that he could finish and they could get out of there.

By the time Daryl had finished and turned to face Girl, he noticed that she was leaning against a tree and the deer was curled into a ball, fast asleep at her side. He packed everything up and walked over to her before reaching his hand out to her. She looked at his dirty outstretched hand and then shook her head no. "Come on," he said and the deer's ears twitched. She shot him a look that told him to shut up. "We gotta get back," he said, quieter this time. She shook her head no and looked down to the sleeping animal. It sighed in its sleep and she felt her heart melt. Daryl went to argue, but he knew this wasn't a battle he was going to win. "I have ta get back to the prison and take care of this 'fore it goes bad," he said and stood up straighter. She looked at him then looked around in a panic.

"I know ya don't wanta be out her by yerself," he said and looked back into the direction of the prison. It wasn't far away, but he knew that she would not be able to stay here alone. "But I have ta get back with this," he said and squatted down next to her. She sighed and looked back down at the deer before running her hand over it's head again. "It'll be ok," he said knowing that she was warring with herself over what she should do.

When she started to get up the deer's head whipped up and it looked around with its large brown eyes before settling on Girl. She stood up straight and then deer joined her, standing up almost faster than Daryl's eyes could see. She looked sad as she reached out to pet the deer, it flinched, but it didn't run away and Daryl turned to leave. But, when he didn't hear her behind him right away, he turned to see her placing more berries on the ground in a path so that the deer would be led it to the bush. It would move on eventually, but she wanted to distract it while she left. She hated that it was going to be alone, and when she was satisfied that the deer would be able to find the food she started after Daryl. She turned to look back once and saw the deer stop to look up at her, it's ear twitched, but then it returned to eating.

"Come on," Daryl said carefully moving his hand back to take her wrist in his hand. When she didn't pull away, he continued to pull her along with him. For the most part she kept up, but he didn't want her to keep looking back, or they would never make it back. He knew that the deer would be alright on its own, that it was old enough and had learned enough to survive without it's mother. He also knew that even if he told Girl that, it wouldn't make her feel any better about being a part of killing its mother and now, leaving it to fend for itself.

They walked in silence until they could see the gates for the prison and she pulled back on his hand making him stop. He turned to look at her and she met his eyes for a moment before looking back to the forest. "What?" he asked as their hands dropped to their sides. She looked back at him and he knew that she wasn't ready to go back in. "You can go right back to yer room when we get in, make sure ya give that knife back to Maggie though," Daryl said, he wanted her to have something to protect herself with, but he knew that no one would feel comfortable with her having a weapon just yet. He started walking but he stopped when he didn't hear her. He turned, "Come on." She looked at him and he knew what she wanted. "We'll go back tomorrow," he said and she gave him the small, but real smile that he craved to see. He would do anything to make her smile like that, even if they had to go find that deer again.

As they started walking back into the gates of the prison, and he took care of the few walkers that had gathered there, he wondered why he was feeling so attached to a girl he had only just met a few days ago. He glanced back at her as he pulled his knife from the head of a walker and saw her plunging her knife into the head of female walker who had blood streaks from her eyes and dripped down her chin. He wondered for a moment about how she didn't appear to have bite marks, but when Girl tried to pull the knife from the things head, it wouldn't come out and another walker was to close for Daryl's comfort. He took a step forward and called out for her, she turned her head and stooped to the ground and the walker's arms clawed the air before looking back down to her. Girl moved faster then Daryl had expected and placed her foot on the female walker's head, yanking out the knife as the male walker fell to the ground on top of her.

Daryl's heart jumped into his throat as he broke into a run, not realizing how far he had been from her. How could he lose someone again? The walker moved on top of her as Daryl grabbed the thing by its torn, dirty, and blood soaked shirt and yanked it off of her to find a knife jammed into its skull. He looked down expecting to find the worse. "Girl?" he said hoarsely as he saw her face and chest covered in almost black blood, "Ya alright?" She took her sleeves and cleaned off her eyes before opening them and nodding up at Daryl. He leaned down and yanked her up as more walkers started stumbling through the trees. She was hardly on her feet when he was pulling her behind him. She pulled him back long enough to yank the knife from the walker's head before following after Daryl.

Glenn and Maggie had already opened the gates and taken care of the walkers that surrounded the entrance. There weren't many, and Maggie turned to wave them forward. Daryl was pulling Girl's arm so hard as they hurried through the gates that she swore her shoulder was out of the socket. When Maggie and Glenn shut the doors behind them Daryl turned around making Girl jump back from the suddenness of his actions. "Violet are you alright?" Maggie asked running up to her as Daryl stood with his hands grabbing her shoulders so tightly she was sure there would be bruises. "I saw you go down," Maggie continued from next to Daryl, her eyes were scanning Girl's body just as Daryl was doing, "Did you get bit? Scratched?"

"She's fine," Daryl growled letting go of Girl. She looked at Daryl for a moment before handing the knife back to Maggie. "Keep it," Maggie said smiling at her, "I'm glad you're ok." Girl nodded and then was yanked away from Maggie and Glenn as Daryl pulled her inside. People tried to talk to him but he brushed by them and Girl had to look at her feet as a blush colored her cheeks. It didn't take them long to get back up to her room and Daryl spun to face her. "Ya alright?" he said pulling her arms up so he could inspect them. Most of the blood covered her face and neck while some had splattered onto her arms and he took out his handkerchief and did his best to clean her arms while checking for scratches or bites. When he didn't find any he looked back up at her and dropped her arms quickly.

"Ya hurtin' anywhere?" he asked looking away from her and moving to the doorway. She shook her head and watched him as he moved further from her. She thought about reaching out for him, but she knew that if she did he would run. She watched him for a moment and when he looked back into her eyes he saw that she was confused and scared again. He had scared her and he was kicking himself for it. "I'm gonna get Hershel," he said before the sheet fell down and he was gone. She looked to her bed and thought about sitting, but she didn't want to get the bed dirty so she opted for the chair.

She sat and took a deep breath and only then realized she had been shaking. She hadn't really been that scared when she had been taking care of the dead, but the moment she had seen the look in Daryl's eyes when he yanked the body off of her, she had wanted to cry. He almost looked as if he was in pain, and she wondered how many people he had lost along the way. She had just stopped shaking when Hershel announced himself.

"Violet?" he said, "I'm coming in." He waited a moment then opened the sheet and walked into the cell. "I heard you took a spill?" he said making his way over to her. She nodded and waited for Daryl to walk in, but he didn't and Hershel took notice of her looking for him and how defeated she was when he wasn't there. "Are you alright? Did any of your injuries re open?" Girl hadn't even thought about that as she mentally went over the injuries she remembered and then shook her head no. "Mind if I take a look at some of the more serious ones?" he asked and she looked at him for a long moment before nodding and standing up. Hershel stood and gently poked and prodded at her upper torso before lowering her shirt and stepping back.

She was shaking again and Hershel knew that if he tried to comfort her it would only make it worse. "I didn't see anything wrong so far, but you should really get cleaned up. I'll get Carol to…" But she started shaking her head no violently. "Did something happen?" he asked her but she wouldn't meet his eyes. Hershel sighed and then smiled at her, "Have you met my daughter Beth yet? I know you've met Maggie," he nodded toward the knife. She nodded and he continued, "Let me go see what Beth is doing. I'll be right back." Girl sat back down in the chair and tried to calm herself down. She knew that Hershel wasn't going to hurt her, but she didn't like him, or anyone else touching her. But then again, Daryl had touched her and she didn't pull away, she wondered why she had been able to be so comfortable around him so soon. She sighed and just figured that it was because he had saved her.

When Hershel walked back into the room she stood quickly and felt a little light headed. She held onto the back of the chair and steadied herself before giving a small smile to Beth. "Hi," Beth said walking over to Violet and extending her hand, "Violet right? I'm Beth." Violet looked away from Beth and blushed because she didn't really want to be touching anyone right then. "Sorry," Beth murmured, but her smile didn't falter, "I brought you some new clothes. Ready?" Violet nodded and Beth turned to lead the way.

"Violet?" Hershel called out but didn't touch her, "Maybe you should leave the knife here for now." Violet looked down and nodded before taking off the knife and the sheath before putting it down on the bed and then moving quickly back to Beth. Beth smiled then looked over to Hershel, "Bye Daddy." He nodded and then she walked out of the room and Violet followed quickly behind her.

**(A/N – So I know that the start of the Chapter was slow, but I promise that it will pick back up in the next chapter. I just wanted to say thank you again to all of those who are following the story and special thanks to those who have reviewed:**

**Tangy Orange – Maggie is one of my favorites too so I couldn't pass it up!**

**PrincessxXxDarkness – I try to update this story every Tuesday so I hope that I keep hearing from you! **

**And both Guest reviewers!**

**Thanks so much for your support!)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six:

Violet found herself looking around for Daryl, and when she realized that she was looking for him she shook her head and looked down to the floor. She didn't know why it hurt her so much that he wasn't there for her, and she just wanted to see him. But then again, she understood if he didn't want to be around her. People said hello to Beth, and some even said hello to Violet, but she didn't respond to them, she just kept her head down. "Here we are!" Beth said happily. Violet looked up and froze when she saw women, children and even some men there. Each stall had curtains around them, and everyone respected the privacy of others, but she could get her feet to move. That was when she felt Beth's hand on her elbow and she jerked away. Violet was shaking and she knew that Beth had just been trying to comfort her, but she couldn't undress around these people. "You alright?" Beth asked and Violet couldn't respond. Beth looked at Violet who had pressed herself against the wall and then to the people that Violet was staring at.

"You don't have to shower now," Beth said holding the clothes out to Violet, "You can use the sink for now and just wash up. At night most everyone has showered and they are in their rooms, so you can shower then if you'd like." Violet took a moment to respond but then slowly nodded before Beth showed her over to the sink. Beth stood back as Violet moved with quick jerky movements as she washed her arms and neck. Violet's eyes darted around the room every time someone moved and Beth felt bad for the poor girl and wondered what she could do to make her feel more at home.

Slowly Beth moved to Violet's side, making sure that she was always in her sight before leaning against the sink next to Violet. Beth started humming a little tune as she stood there silently letting Violet know that she would watch her back while she finished up. She nodded to Beth who just gave her a small smile in return, and continued to wash. When Violet was done, she backed away from the sink and looked to Beth. "Did you want to change in your room or here?" Violet looked out to the door and Beth gave her another smile before turning, "Come on."

The walk back to Violet's cell was quieter, there were less people in the halls and the few people that where there just gave them smile smiles as they walked through. For the most part Violet kept her head down and followed a few steps behind Beth. When the walked up the stairs Violet thought she saw the blanket to Daryl's cell move and she felt her heart skip a beat before she looked away from the room. She knew that while Daryl slept outside of the cell on the ledge, he did have a cell that he kept his things in, but she just wanted to change out of her dirty clothes. Beth stopped outside of her cell and Violet gave her a quick small smile before darting into her room to change.

The moment that Violet saw she was alone she leaned against the wall in her cell and took a deep breath. Her heart was beating fast and her entire body was shaking. She had been absolutely terrified the moment she had left the room with Beth. There was just way to many people in the prison and she hated how they all watched her. Even though Violet had kept her head down most of the walk to the bathroom and back to her cell, she had seen some of the people watching her, and when she didn't see them she could still feel their eyes in her back. Tears pricked at her eyes and she slid down to the floor and took a few deep breaths, but it didn't seem to help. Her heart picked up pace and felt as if it was going to pound through her chest, her breaths started coming shorter and it was making her dizzy. Cold crept up her spine and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears. She brought her knees up to her chest and tucked her head between them hoping that it would help.

When it didn't she started to panic, even though she knew it wouldn't help anything. Her vision started to blur and her body wouldn't stop shaking as a tear slipped out of her eye, followed by another. She was gasping for air now, her lungs felt like they were being pricked by small needles and her head was pounding now. "Violet?" Beth's voice sounded so far away. Violet gasps became quicker and in seconds she was hyperventilating. "Violet?" she hardly heard Beth's voice over the pounding in her ears, and when Beth's hand touched her arm she didn't even jerk away. "Daddy?" Beth called out sitting down in front of Violet while her hands rubbed her arms. She still hadn't looked up at Beth and her touch did little to calm her down.

"Daddy!" Beth called a little louder and Violet started panicking more thinking about all the people that could hear Beth and wondered how many of them would come into the room. "What's going on?" a woman's voice called softly from the door way. Violet didn't know the voice and her breathing grew shallower as she pictured the woman watching her. "Can you get my dad?" Beth asked and Violet didn't hear the response, just the pounding of boots as the woman hurried down the hall.

Seconds later Hershel was letting himself into the room. "Thanks Karen," Beth said and then moved to help her dad to sit down. "What happened?" Hershel asked as he sat down in front of Violet.

"I don't know," Beth said standing at her father's side, "We walked to the bathroom and she came back her to change. She wasn't alone for more than a few minutes when I heard her gasping."

"Go get me a brown bag, a damp rag and a bottle of Gatorade," Hershel said, and then Beth was gone, "Violet, can you look at me sweetheart?" She heard Hershel, but she couldn't manage to pick up her head. "Alright," he said taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze, "Let's try to slow your breathing down, ok?" She did her best to nod and Hershel took a few deep breaths to try and get Violet to copy his breathing. When she tried she started coughing and more tears streamed down her face. "What the hell is goin' on?" Daryl's voice rang clearly through her head, but things were still spinning and she didn't dare pick up her head. "Hey Girl," he said kneeling down next to her but not touching her, "What happened?"

"She's having a panic attack," Hershel said calmly, "She'll be ok if we can slow down her breathing, Beth just went to get me a bag."

"Why the hell is she having a panic attack?" Daryl growled out trying to keep his voice low and even for Violet's sake.

"She went to take a shower and came back her and it hit her," Hershel said as Violet pulled her hand away from his not wanting to be touched at the moment, "Must have been all the people." Daryl nodded and moved to sit against the wall next to her. "Can you watch her while I go see where Beth is?" Hershel asked and Daryl nodded.

When Hershel exited the room Daryl looked back to Girl. "Can ya hear me?" he asked and watched as Violet slowly nodded her head. Her body was shaking as bad as the fawns had been when they found it and Daryl found himself wanting to pull her to him and hold her tight. "I'm here," he said and she nodded again and he leaned his head against the wall, "Found some food that we can leave fer the deer tomorrow. If ya still want to go." She nodded and he nudged her shoulder with his and she was able to slowly tilt her head to the side to see his face.

Her bright purple eyes were glassed over and Daryl felt a pang in his stomach and wanted to make sure she was never like this again. But he knew that as long as the sick fucks that did this to her were still out there, she would never be able to feel safe again. "The damn thing probably ate all the berries. It's a shame, they were good," he said and he saw a small smile on her lips for a moment as the tears slowed to a stop. "Come 'ere," he said moving so that he was sideways and he pulled her carefully to sit in front of him, between his outstretched legs.

Another pang punched him hard in the stomach when he moved her, she was almost as lifeless as the day he found her. She wasn't shaking as hard now and while they were close to each other, they weren't touching. He pulled the sheet to the side so that they could see out of the cell and Girl's back straightened. "It's alright," he said setting his hand on her shoulder, "Ain't no one out there right now." She relaxed a little and Daryl spoke again, "See lil' ass kicker?" He pointed down to show Maggie holding a baby and Girl nodded, "Rick's kid. Carl's round her somewhere, they called her Judith. She's gotten big. Tha's Patrick," he said pointing to a boy building something with Legos, "He's one of the older kids, don't act like it a lot though. Lizzie and Mika, they are sisters, something strange bout that older one." At this point Violet's breath had slowed down, and while she was still shaking, her breathing was coming easier.

"Ya can kinda see out the window, Hershel found that the earth was good enough to plant in. I can wait for the corn to grow. Been tryin' ta see if I can get Hershel to plant Tabaco. Gettin' real tired of the stale cigarettes I've been findin," Daryl continued as he listened to her breathing and she seemed to relax more against him. They still weren't touching, but now her back was only inches away from his chest and he could feel the warmth radiating off of her. "I'll bring in some of the seeds we have and ya can show me what ya like," he saw her head nod in approval and he saw that her breathing was almost normal at this point and he allowed himself to touch her. The second that his hand touched her shoulder she jumped and he jerked his hand away. "Sorry," he muttered and went to stand up.

She shook her head no, and still not looking at him, she carefully took his hand in hers and placed it on her shoulder where he had attempted to touch her seconds ago. She could feel how tense he was but after a moment of them sitting like that he slowly moved his thumb back and forth over her shoulder. She had put her sweater back on and he actually felt upset that he couldn't feel her soft skin under his hand. "Aren't ya hot?" he asked taking his hand away from her shoulder and she sagged a little bit when the contact was taken away. She shook her head no. '_Bullshit,'_ he thought as she slowly leaned back against him. His breath caught in his throat as she rested against him, but he didn't move her away and he didn't move to hold her to him either. She sighed and he noticed that her breathing was back to normal, and while she still shook a little, she seemed better. She turned her head to the side enough to where Daryl was able to see her eyes.

She wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes still looked sad and he hated himself for not knowing what to do to make her better. He saw the question in her eyes and he looked away from her before saying, "My ma use to have panic attacks like that. I tried to help her, talkin' just seemed ta help her calm down." Girl nodded her head and turned to look back out the window.

Daryl heard Hershel's crutch before he saw him. The man hobbled around the corner and into the cell to see Violet asleep against Daryl. "Took ya long enough," Daryl said gruffly and went to stand. Hershel held his hand out to stop him and it was only then that Daryl realized she had fallen asleep. He sighed a little and then moved to pick her up. Carefully he moved her to the bed and laid her down before covering her feet up with the blanket. He knew that she was hot under the heavy sweater, but he didn't dare take it off of her, but he thought she might want the blanket as a safety thing. He turned to look at Hershel who had been watching him with an amused expression on his face. "What," Daryl grunted.

"I brought her some things," Hershel said holding the plastic bag out to Daryl. Daryl took it and pulled out the bottled drink and set it next to her bed before placing the damp towel on her forehead. She squirmed under the cold on her head but stayed asleep. "You should stay with her until she wakes up," Hershel said as Daryl walked towards the door. Daryl stopped and looked back at Girl before looking to Hershel. "I got shit ta do," he said and chewed on the skin on his thumb.

"It can wait," Hershel said placing his hand on the man's shoulder. Daryl nodded but didn't say anything as he moved back to sit in the chair by Girl's bed. Hershel watched him for a moment before walking out and closing the sheet so no one else could see into the room. When Daryl was sure that Hershel was gone he looked at Girl's face and used his knuckle to stop the water drop from sliding down her face. His hand stayed on her cheek for a moment and he whispered, "Yer safe Girl. I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya." He heard her sigh and she moved a little closer to his hand making him stiffen. For a moment he thought she had woken up, but when she let out a deep breath he relaxed and slowly moved away from her. This girl was messing him up, bad, but oddly enough he didn't find himself pushing her away.

**(A/N – Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven:

When Girl woke up she immediately searched for Daryl and was rewarded when she saw him with his head down in the chair next to her bed. She didn't move as she watched his chest rise and fall with every breath he took, and she knew that he was asleep. From outside of her cell she could see dim light and knew that it wasn't night yet, but it was probably close to it, and she was surprised for a moment that Daryl was sleeping. She was also surprised that he had stayed in here with her after she had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes and remembered how strong Daryl had felt behind her and how easily it had been for him to talk her out of her freak out. She let out a soft sigh and opened her eyes to the still sleeping Daryl. She thought he should sleep as long as he could after being out for so long with her, but she needed to go to the bathroom. She looked over to her night stand and saw the drink Hershel had left for her and she licked her lips as she realized how dry her mouth was.

Sitting up as quietly as she could she shifted out of bed and stood before stretching her arms above her head. She shivered as the cooling air brushed over her sweat dampened skin and she thought about taking off her sweater but then thought better of it. She picked up her drink and walked quietly around Daryl to the cell door. She held her breath and listened to see if she could hear anyone outside, and when she only heard a few voices she peaked her head out from behind the sheet that gave her cell a sense of privacy. She noticed some of the adults sitting around talking to each other by the stairs and she knew that she would have to walk right through the middle of them to get to the bathroom. She wondered where the kids where and then figured it wasn't her concern and she slowly walked out of her cell.

No one noticed her right away, but when she reached the top of the stairs a heavier man stopped talking and looked right at her. The other four in the group turned to see what he was looking at and she felt blood rise to her cheeks, so she put her head down and continued down the stairs. The woman with dirty blonde hair that had been sitting on the steps moved to the side so that she Violet could get pass her and she gave a small smile to Violet as she walked by. The woman tried to start the group's conversation back up, but the heavy set man that had first noticed her didn't take his eyes off of her and didn't talk. He was standing in the middle of the landing of the stairs and when he didn't move out of her way she moved to go around him never looking him in the eyes. "Hold on there," he said in a deep voice making her back go straight, "Where are ya off ta all by yerself?" She turned her head away from him and tried again to side step him. He cut her off again, "I asked ya a question."

"She doesn't have to talk to you Bill," the woman on the stairs said and Violet turned and gave her a small smile before looking up to the man in front of her. His face was covered in short stubble and he was balding slightly on the top of his head, his dark brown eyes danced with amusement as Violet backed away from him. "Let her alone," the man that was standing off to the side of the stairs next to the woman said.

"I'm just tryin' ta be a good neighbor," Bill said and thrusted his hand out to Violet. She jerked back as if he was holding out a venomous snake out to her. "I ain't gonna bite ya," Bill said with a smile on his face and a laugh in his voice, "Unless ya want me to."

"You're going to make her sick," the man next to the stairs said, "Let her go."

"As soon as she shakes ma hand and introduces herself to me," Bill said.

"Don't be a dick Bill," the woman said.

"Don't be a bitch Jess," Bill spat out at the woman before turning back to Violet. He moved his hand closer to it and she readied herself to strike him when a familiar voice called out to her. "There you are Violet, I was just about to come check on you."

Violet eyes glanced up to Hershel for only a second before going back to Bill. "Is there a problem?" Hershel asked putting his hand on Bill's shoulder. Bill dropped his hand immediately before turning to look at Hershel. "No problem," Bill said and moved over to stand next to the man that was standing next to Jess. Violet hurried by the other two men that stood by the stairs and continued until she was behind Hershel. "Have a good night," Hershel said before turning and walking up to Violet.

Hershel didn't say anything until they were out of earshot of the small group by the stairs. "Don't let anything that man says bother you," Hershel said trying to reassure her, "He's a lot of talk, but he's harmless." Violet looked to Hershel and nodded letting him know that she wasn't to torn up about it. She knew that if Hershel wouldn't have come by Bill would've been hurting if he had touched her. "Where are we heading?" Hershel asked as they continued to walk down the hallways. She shot him an apologetic smile and he let out a soft chuckle. "Still not talking?"

Violet looked down at her feet and shook her head. "It's alright," he said as they stopped outside of the bathrooms, "Take your time. Don't feel like you have to talk to anybody unless you're ready. Ok?" She nodded her head and looked towards the bathroom. "I'll wait here for you," he said and she smiled at him before heading in to take care of business

When Daryl woke up he shot up straight in his chair and panicked a little when he didn't see Girl. He stood up and immediately regretted falling asleep in the chair. His entire body ached and he tilted his head side to side to crack his neck. He arched backwards and his back cracked and he groaned. He looked around the room and noticed that her drink was gone and he was shocked that he hadn't heard her get up. He crossed the cell and moved the sheet out of the way in time to hear Hershel walking back into the block. He looked over and rubbed his face with his one hand and when he opened his eyes again there was Girl looking right back up at him.

She gave him a short sweet smile and he felt himself relax after seeing her safe. He noticed she had drank about half of her bottle and that the sun had almost completely set meaning that he had been out for a few hours. He wondered how long she had been up and moving around. He watched her as her smile fell and her head tilted to the ground and he frowned. What had happened that made her react like that? He looked towards the stairs and saw the group he hadn't paid much attention to and realized Bill was there. He swore that if that asshole had touched her he would kill Bill himself. Bill had hardly made it into the prison, but when the council had realized he was all talk they had let him in, but they kept a close eye on him. Daryl started heading towards the stairs as Hershel and Girl walked up to the group.

The group parted and Hershel nodded up to Daryl as Girl hurried up the stairs. Daryl met her at the top, but he hadn't taken his eyes off of Bill, who coincidentally hadn't taken his eyes off of Girl. His girl. '_Where the fuck did that come from? She ain't mine,'_ Daryl thought to himself as he took her by the elbow and walked her to her cell. He hated the way Bill had watched Girl and he thought about having a few choice words with the man later, Girl might not be his, but he wasn't about to let someone like Bill have her.

"Did that bastard touch ya?" Daryl asked when they were in her cell. She shook her head no but then took several deep breaths. Daryl took the drink from her hand and opened it up before handing it to her. "Drink," he said and he watched as her hand shook as she took it from him. The liquid sloshed as she raised it to her lips and took a drink. "Have ya eaten anything yet?" Daryl asked when she handed the drink back to him. She shook her head no. "I'm gonna go get us something. Ya can stay here if ya want," Daryl said and she nodded. Daryl put the drink back onto the small table by her bed before walking out of the cell in search of dinner for them.

She plopped down onto the bed and let out a sigh as she leaned her back against the wall. She let her eyes rest for a moment before moving to get the brush off of the stack of clean clothes. She took her hair down from the hair tie she had put in earlier and slowly started working the knots out with the brush. She missed having her hair brushed and felt a tinge of sadness as she let her thoughts drift.

She had counted to eighty-seven brush strokes out of her one hundred when Daryl moved into the cell. She glanced up at him and smiled before looking back down and finishing brushing. Daryl's breath had caught as he watched her brush out her long black hair. He found himself wanting to run his fingers through it to see if it was as soft as it looked. When she sat the brush back down he realized he hadn't moved from the door. She looked up at him and patted a spot on the bed next to her. He took in a deep breath, attempting to rid himself of his thoughts, and walked towards her. He handed her a plate of deer meat and corn before sliding the chair closer and sitting in it. She smiled and nodded at him before digging into her food. He watched her for a moment before he started eating and they sat there like that, enjoying their food and each other's company.

**(A/N – Thank for reading! Let me know what you think! Special thanks to: **

**L'ange maudit**

** .1884**

**Jinglyjess)**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight:

Daryl stood with Girl outside the bathroom as she held the clean night clothes, a pair of black sweatpants a sports bra and a white t-shirt, to her chest as if someone was going to take them away from her. The sun had set just a little while ago and everyone was in their cells settling in for the night. Daryl and Girl had finished their dinner and Daryl had left her alone for a few moments while he took their dishes down to get cleaned when he had run into Beth. "She didn't get to take a shower yet today," Beth had said.

"So," he responded glancing to Beth then to Carol as she took the plates from him. Daryl turned and walked back to the stairs while Beth walked next to him. "So," Beth continued, "I told her she could come back later tonight and clean up by herself."

"Are ya gonna come take her?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Beth said stopping at the top of the stairs with Daryl, "Rick is on watch tonight and asked me to watch Judith. He thinks she's coming down with a cold. So you're going to have to walk her there."

"Why me?" Daryl had asked and Beth just smiled and lifted one eye brow.

"You have to ask?" she asked and Daryl had hated the way her voice sounded like she was laughing at him. He nodded and sighed before walking back into the room which led him to where he was now. "Ya'll have ta take a shower sooner or later," Daryl said as he chewed the skin on his thumb, "I ain't gonna let no one in while yer in there. Ya'll be fine."

Girl looked up at Daryl and waited for him to meet her eyes before she nodded and gave him a small shaky smile and nodded. Daryl watched as she walked into the darkened bathroom with her flash light. He watched the light dance back and forth across the bathroom floor and walls until it dimmed as she walked into one of the sheets that separated things into stalls. He looked away and walked down the hallway some to check and make sure no one was coming to get cleaned up, halfway back to the door he heard the water start up and he stopped for a moment. He wondered if she was ever going to be comfortable enough to take a shower during the day.

When he made his way back to the door way of the showers his breath caught in his throat and he froze. Girl had put the flashlight down on the opposite side of her, and even though she wasn't in the first stall, the light painted her shadow on the sheets so well for a moment he thought he was seeing her instead of her shadow. He knew he shouldn't be watching, but he couldn't bring himself to turn away. He could see ever curve of her delicate body and he wanted nothing more than to slide his hands over her curves. He had seen her body when he had brought her back, but somehow, this seemed more intimate then looking at her naked.

He watched as her hands skimmed over her body as the water pelted her. He remembered how soft her skin had been the last time he touched her and he shifted his stance as his pants grew a little tighter. He saw her reach for a wash cloth and watched carefully as her hands worked the soap together between them and he felt sick as he thought her hands on him rubbing him the way she was running her hands over the bar. He gulped down and made himself breath as she put the soap down and then moved the cloth over her entire body. When she reached her chest he saw her run her hands over each perfect globe and moaned when he saw her hands stop there. She didn't move for a moment and Daryl wondered if she had heard him. He was about to turn away when he saw her hands slowly fall away from her chest while her head tilted back and the water pulled her hair down her back. Finally he was able to pull himself away from the door.

He walked far enough away from the door so that she wouldn't be able to hear him, and he punched the wall once, and then twice before running his hands through his hair. _'The fuck is wrong with me?' _he screamed at himself, _'She was just fuckin raped and I'm thinkin bout touchin her like that?" _

"Fuck," he said out loud as he dragged his hands over his face. He was so preoccupied with kicking himself for thinking of Girl like that, that he almost missed the footsteps coming down the hallway. Before he even turned around he knew it was a man, and a heavy set one by the way the footsteps sounded. "Hey," he said spinning around a moving as fast as he could without running back to the showers. He couldn't believe that the person had come so close, he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if anyone else had seen her the way he just had.

When he reached the door he was finally able to see the man's face and Daryl wanted to hurt him the moment he saw him. "Daryl," Bill said as Daryl blocked his path to the showers.

"Bill," Daryl grunted out. Daryl took a deep breath while he studied the man who came with a towel over his shoulder and a bag of shower things in his hand. "Showers are closed for tonight," Daryl said.

"Then why is someone in there?" Bill asked obviously hearing the running water as Girl showered.

"One stall workin," Daryl lied.

"I'll just wait my turn then," Bill said giving Daryl a fake smile. Daryl crossed his arms over his chest and didn't take his eyes off of Bill. "Ya can wait out here then," Daryl said allowing a glance over his shoulder. He could barely see her shadow, and he knew that Bill couldn't see it at all. "Why can't I go inside?" Bill said and then crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to copy Daryl's intimidating stance, but failing.

"Because I said no body is goin in there," Daryl almost growled as he thought of Bill seeing her in such an intimate way. Daryl heard the water turn off and saw Bill crane his neck to see. Daryl took a step forward and Bill stumbled back. "The hell are ya doin here?" Daryl asked his arms at his sides now, hands clenched in fists.

"Gonna take a shower," Bill said holding his things up to Daryl.

"Since when do ya take showers this late at night?"

"Didn't know we had to schedule shower times now," Bill shot back trying to walk around Daryl but Daryl cut him off.

"Ya look clean," Daryl said scanning the man again, "Yer clothes don't even looked dirty."

"I like to be clean," Bill said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well ya can clean up tomorrow mornin," Daryl said stepping forward again making Bill step back, "Get outa here."

"Who do you think you are?" Bill said, his voice getting a little louder.

"Me? Who the fuck do ya think ya are? I feed yer fat ass and keep ya and yer friends safe. Ya wanta get kicked outa here? Go back out there and face the geeks again? I can make it happen, yer hardly here as it is, keep pushin me." Bill's face turned white as Daryl continued to walk forward and Bill kept stumbling backwards. "Get the fuck outa here," Daryl growled almost quietly. Bill didn't say anything as he quickly turned and hurried back to his cell. Daryl closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he turned around.

And there she was. Girl was standing at the door, he head hardly visible from the shadows. Daryl put his hands up in a non-threatening way as he approached her. She didn't back away, but she didn't move towards him either. When he was arm's length away from her he stopped. She wasn't shaking, her big violet eyes just studied his face. He didn't move, and he didn't say anything as she watched him. Slowly she came out from behind the wall and he saw that her hair was still wrapped up in a towel but now she was wearing baggy grey sweatpants and a loose fitting light blue t-shirt that stuck to her skin where she was still wet. Her cheeks were tinted pink and her skin started to form goose bumps as the air cooled her hot skin. He noticed that her bruising and swelling was already starting to fade, and he noticed that the worse spots she had put fresh Band-Aids over and seeing them made him angry all over again.

Daryl was concentrating so hard on her injuries that he jumped a little when her fingers touched his face. Girl started to pull her hand back, but then paused and moved her hand back to his cheek. His eyes almost fluttered closed as her fingers rubbed over the scruff on his face. Their eyes locked as she cupped his cheek with her hand and he loved how warm and soft her hand was. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides to keep him from touching her. He hated that the entire time she touched him he pictured her shadow. He was disgusted with himself and he swore that he would never touch her unless she told him too. She gave him a small smile when she saw the war raging in his eyes, even though she didn't know what he was thinking, she could sense how upset he was. She let her hand sit there for a moment and then moved her thumb over the more by his lip once before sliding her hand down his neck to his shoulder. She squeezed her hand on his shoulder silently telling him thank you. Daryl nodded and Girl reached to grab her things off the floor before returning to his side.

They walked to her cell together using her flash light to guide the way. When they reached the door to her cell she walked right in and only turned back when she saw that Daryl wasn't behind her. She pulled the sheet to the side and smiled at him before she reached for his hand and pulled him in. She immediately let go of his hand when he entered the room, but he still liked the touch. Probably more then he wanted to admit, and it made him feel worse. He felt like a pervert and he was slowly hating himself more and more for it. She walked to the bed and sat down before reaching up and pulling the towel down, towel drying her hair as the towel came down. She wrapped the towel around her shoulders and fanned her hair out over it.

Girl watched as Daryl stayed by the door to her cell and chewed on the skin on his thumb as he watched her. Girl picked up her brush and started brushing the knots out of her hair as she continued to watch Daryl. Girl knew that there was something wrong with Daryl, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She didn't think that it was the small fight with Bill in the hallway, but she wondered if Daryl talked to everyone that way, or if it was just Bill. She wondered why Bill had been there anyway, and it seemed to her that Daryl had wondered the same thing.

She continued to think about what could be wrong with Daryl as she worked through her hair. She had just gotten all of the knots out from the left side of her hair and her arms were killing her. She rolled up the sleeve of the left arm of her shirt to see a small trickle of blood coming from one of her more serious cuts. Daryl was at her side before she could even blink and he was using the wet rag Hershel had left in her cell to clean the blood from her skin. She watched him carefully as he reached for an un-opened Band-Aid. He pulled it open and placed it gently over her cut so that it wouldn't bother the healing skin, but so it would stop the bleeding. She almost sighed as his thumb lightly caressed the Band-Aid and the bruised skin around it.

Daryl jerked his hand back when he realized he was still touching her and he started to move back to his wall when she caught his larger callused hand in her smaller softer one. She pulled him to sit down on the bed next to him and put his hand, palm up, before placing her hairbrush in his opened hand. "Girl I," he started but she rubbed her arm letting him know that working the knots out was harder than just brushing her hair. He sighed and nodded and she slowly turned so that her back was to him.

For a moment they both just sat there and just as Girl was about to turn around to face him she felt the bristles touch her scalp. He moved the brush slowly through her hair until he hit a knot. When he did he stopped for a moment, then took the brush from her hair and worked the knot out from the bottom to the top of her head. Every now and then she would wince when he pulled her hair close to the healing cut and lump on the back of her head. He tried his best to be gentle, and when Girl felt that all the knots where out of her hair she thought he would stop. But when Daryl continued to run the brush through her smooth hair, she actually moaned a little. Daryl hesitated, but continued and she had to bite her lip to keep from sighing again. He was careful around her injury, but she was melting at his touch. She always thought there were few things better then getting her hair brushed.

Girl was a little disappointed when Daryl stopped brushing her hair, but she knew that they should be going to bed if they were getting up early tomorrow to go back outside the gates. She sighed and turned around to face him and he handed her brush back to her. She placed it on her night stand and then turned back to face Daryl who was already standing up. She looked up at him and tilted her head to the side a little. "Gotta go to bed Girl, getting up early tomorrow," he said and she nodded. He waited for her to get into bed and watched as she placed the towel over her pillow and then fanned her hair out over it. She then turned slightly and locked eyes with Daryl one more time. "Night Girl," he said leaning and turning off her gas lamp, letting his eyes adjust to the dark, then he left for his bed.

As Girl laid there she thought back to the short time of their walk to the showers and tried to figure out if she had done something wrong that would have upset him. She had just shut her eyes when she thought about something. Her eyes flew open and her cheeks heated as she wondered if he had seen her in the shower. She had loved how the water had felt over her body that she had let her mind slip and for a moment she had thought that she was back in her house in her shower and she had let her hands travel her body the way she had so many times before, but this time, in her mind, Daryl had been there with her. Protecting her and touching her body, not in a sexual way, but in a caring and gentle way that almost made her want to cry. At that moment she had opened her eyes and remembered where she was and what she had been through. Tears had slipped down her cheeks when she had remembered, and in that moment she had felt naked. She had hurried and finished the shower and that when she had dressed she had heard Daryl talking to someone.

Girl remembered seeing how angry he was to the point he had been shaking and she had seen how red his knuckles had been at the time, and by the time they were in her cell his knuckles were already bruising. She wanted to kiss each hurt knuckle and tell him that everything was going to be ok, but she didn't even know what was wrong.

In the end she figured it must have been something Bill had said because there was no way Daryl could have seen her in the shower and she drifted off to sleep happy that tomorrow would be better because they wouldn't be locked in these walls and she hoped that she would see the fawn again.

**(A/N – Thanks for reading everyone! I hope that you are enjoying the story so far. Let me know what you think! Special thanks to: **

**DanathaKettu – Thanks so much!**

** .1884 – I thought that part was adorable as I wrote it as well heheh and you'll just have to keep reading to find out ;) **

**AllieKat21 – The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite movies as well! But I personally love getting my hair brushed, it's one of life's greatest pleasures! **

**I can't wait to hear back from you again!) **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine:

When Girl woke up she stretched and remembered how sore she was. She winced a little and slowly lowered her arms back to her side. She sat up slowly and reached for the drink she hadn't finished yesterday and took a few sips. She walked to her door and peeked her head out enough to make sure that no one was around before she quickly changed into her borrowed dark blue jeans, a burgundy cami and a large soft grey and pink sweat shirt. Even though it was early in the day, it was already starting to get warm and she wanted to be far from the prison so that she could take her sweater off where no one would see her skin when the sweater was off. Her hair was still a little damp and she braided it and twisted it into a bun before pulling on her boots Beth had found for her and headed out to find Daryl.

The first place Girl looked was the bed that Daryl used outside of the cell he kept his things in. When she didn't find him there, she knocked on the cell wall to his room and carefully looked in. When he wasn't in there either she started to worry. He wouldn't leave without her, would he? She walked to the railing as she kept an eye out for anyone that was too close to her. For the most part, everyone was still asleep except for a few people that were getting up for morning chores. She watched as people went on with their lives, she was invisible to them, and she knew that none of them would miss her if she was gone. She was a small person in this prison, sure people knew of her, but no one would remember her if she left. She guessed that was her fault, but no matter how much she wanted someone she could talk to, someone she could trust, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

After a few moments of people watching she was able to walk down the stairs. She quietly made her way around the small groups of groggy people as she walked to the bathroom. She glanced in from behind the wall and saw Beth washing a baby down as best she could and a few other people that were starting the morning routines, but still no Daryl. She followed some people that were carrying plates and water bottles filled with different drinks. She figured that was her best bet to get outside.

Soon she felt the breeze coming in and knew that she was close. The people she had been following hadn't even noticed her until Maggie called out for her. They turned and gave her a nod before walking to get food. She did a quick scan of the people that were outside and felt her heart drop when she didn't see Daryl. "Hey Violet," Maggie said walking up to her. Violet nodded and Maggie stretched and yawned. "I see you like the knife I gave you," Maggie said nodding to the knife that was strapped around Violet's belt. Violet nodded again and Maggie motioned over to the food and Violet fell into step next to her. Maggie picked up a plate and Violet copied her as they went through the line to get food.

Violet's mouth watered as eggs were dished onto her plate. Maggie watched the girl from the corner of her eye and smiled as Violet took in the food. Next they were dished out the last bit of deer and some pork, a small cup of peaches and two slices of apple, a piece of bread with a half spoon of butter on it, and at the end they were offered tea and coffee. Violet took some hot tea and followed Maggie to one of the picnic tables. Maggie sat on one side and Violet sat on the other side and Violet picked up the fork she had grabbed and immediately took a small bite of eggs. Her eyes drifted shut and she almost moaned. "Good right?" Maggie asked with a smile. Violet blushed and nodded before taking the butter off of her bread and making a sandwich out of the meat with it.

Maggie yawned every now and then, but for the most part they ate in silence. When Violet started on her fruit, Glenn came over and sat next to Maggie. She leaned over and the shared a short, but sweet, kiss. When they pulled away they were both smiling at each other. "Hey Violet," Glenn said trying to be friendly, she knew that he wasn't too sure about her yet, but she didn't blame him. She gave him a small smiled and continued to eat. "Daryl wanted me to let you know that he went out hunting earlier, he said you were sleeping so I'm guessing he didn't want to wake you up," Glenn said glancing back from Violet to Maggie. Violet could see on Maggie's face that she didn't believe that any more than Violet did. Once Glenn saw the look of disappointment on Violet's face, he didn't make eye contact with her again. She sighed and finished the rest of her fruit before standing up and taking her dishes to where everyone else was putting their dirty dishes.

Violet looked back and saw Maggie whispering quickly to Glenn and he was trying to get a word in, but failing until Maggie stopped talking. Glenn tried again to explain and this time Maggie sighed and nodded and then Violet walked over to the table. "Well," Maggie said looking at Glenn then up to Violet, "We just got off watch, so we are headed to bed. See you later?" Violet nodded and Glenn and Maggie cleaned up after themselves and headed inside.

Violet looked around as more people started coming out of the prison. Most didn't notice her, but the few that did watched her carefully. Violet looked around one more time, hoping that Daryl would be there, before she headed back inside. "Hey Violet," Beth called as she walked up with the baby on her hip, "Have you met Judith yet?" Violet shook her head no and let her hand brush the baby's head before the baby wrapped her tiny hand around Violet's shoulder. "I already fed Judith but I was going to get some food, are you going out with Daryl again today?"

When Violet shook her head no and started paying more attention to the judgmental eyes that walked past them Beth spoke up again. "Why don't you go in your room and Judith and I will come sit with you for a while. It's nice to be around someone who is older then ten," Beth smiled and Violet studied her for a moment, and when Beth's smile didn't falter, she nodded. "See you in a minute then," Beth said and started walking. Judith's hand slipped from Violet's finger and Violet hurried to her room. She leaned against the wall of her cell and took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. Her heart was racing and the more people that walked past her room, the harder it was to breath.

It seemed that she sat there for hours when Beth finally showed up with Judith. "You alright?" Beth asked. Violet had moved to the bed and was laying down with her back to the door and she had taken the knife from her belt and started to slowly dig the sharpened tip into the crease of the front of her elbow. She jumped a little when Beth came in and the blade had dug deeper into her skin than she had planned making a large bead of blood show up. She gasped and put the knife down on the bed before taking the dark towel from her hair the night before and cleaned the blood as quickly as she could before she sat up and pulled the sweater arm down over her new injury. Violet nodded in answer to Beth's question before turning to face her.

"Sorry I took so long I brought some of Judith's toys with," Beth said walking to the bed. Violet moved the knife and sheath to the table at the side of her bed and crossed her legs so Beth could put Judith down. Judith immediately started to squirm so Violet held the baby's hands in her hands and started gently bouncing the baby. "You're a natural," Beth said then grew very quiet, then after a moment, "Did you have any before?" Violet looked up at Beth and smiled sadly at her before shaking her head no.

"That's too bad," Beth said, "They would have been pretty." Violet smiled and Beth returned an answering smile. Beth pulled a few toys out of the bag she had brought with and placed them in front of Violet. The girls stretched their legs out to make a barrier so Judith and her toys wouldn't slide off the bed. They watched as Judith played and sometimes they played with Judith, but mostly Beth talked about life on the farm her father and sister use to live on. Violet normally didn't like when people just talked, but when Beth talked she could imagine a better life, and it stopped the awkward silences.

When Judith started fussing Beth pulled some baby food out of the bad and opened it. "Will you hold her while I try to get her to eat?" Beth asked. Violet nodded and pulled Judith into her lap while Beth dug out some jar food. Beth handed Violet the bib and while Violet gently put it around Judith's neck Beth opened up the food and stirred it. When Judith was settled in her lap Beth made cooing noises to get Judith's attention and then slowly started to feed her. Violet watched intently as Beth fed Judith and thought about how natural she looked taking care of the baby. Violet wondered about Judith's parents, she knew that Rick was the father, and she had seen the boy Carl walk around with her sometimes, so she figured that was her brother, but she never saw her mother.

"Violet your arm is bleeding," Beth said snapping Violet from her thoughts. Beth but the spoon in the half empty jar and reached for the bleeding arm but Violet jerked away and accidently jarred Judith making the baby start to whine. Violet quickly picked Judith up and handed her to Beth who was already apologizing to Violet. "I didn't mean to startle you," Beth said taking Judith and bouncing the baby to soothe her, "I was just going to make sure you're alright. Sorry." Violet blushed and nodded feeling bad, but she didn't want Beth to know what she had done to herself. She turned her back to Beth and looked at her sleeve. It hadn't bled through to bad and when Violet rolled up the sleeve she saw the dried blood that had crusted over her arm and the fresh blood that was starting to roll slowly down her arm. She grabbed the towel, being careful not to let Beth see, dried and cleaned her arm the best she could, then put her last clean Band-Aid on and slid her sweater back down.

"Everything ok?" Beth said as Violet took a deep breath and turned around. She nodded and offered Beth a small smile to try make the situation less stressful. Judith had quit crying and when Violet sat back down on the bed Beth offered her over to Violet but Violet shook her head no. "Later?" Beth asked and Violet nodded. Beth placed a cloth over her shoulder and started to burp Judith. Beth hummed a soft song and Violet scooted back to lean against the wall as she listened to the tune. It wasn't familiar to her, but the song was still pretty. Violet's eyes drifted shut and stayed closed until she heard a man's voice at her door.

Violet's back snapped straight and eyes flew open as Rick walked into the door. "Violet," he nodded to her in greeting and she nodded back with a small smile, "Hey Beth, how's my little girl doing today?"

"She just ate and with any luck she's ready for a nap, want her?" Beth asked and when Rick nodded she handed Judith up to him and Rick pulled her into his arms. He gave her a kiss and Violet watched as he talked to her while pride and something that looked a little like fear played on his face. He kissed her once more before turning back to Beth, "How's everything going in here?"

"Pretty good," Beth said smiling at Violet, "I was thinking after Judith went down for her nap we would go get lunch."

"That sounds good," Rick said and then glanced over to the table next to the bed and noticed the knife, "When did you get that?"

"Maggie gave it to her when Violet went on a run with Daryl yesterday," Beth said when Violet had looked down at her hands. Violet's stomach tuned when Daryl was mentioned, she still wanted to know what she had done that upset Daryl enough to leave her behind, maybe that was just who he was. She shook that thought away, not wanting to believe that, before looking back up to Rick. "Do you know how to use it?" Rick asked and Violet immediately heard _trick question _scream in her head. She shrugged and then nodded a little bit hoping that would be enough for Rick. He studied her for a moment, but she didn't let her eyes fall away from his. "Alright," he nodded slowly and smiled at her with the smile only Police Officers had when they were trying to be your friend, "Just be careful with it." Violet nodded and then looked at Beth. "Speaking of Daryl," Rick started, "Have you seen him today?"

"No," Beth said looking back to Rick, "But Glenn said he went out early."

"Alright," Rick said looking back and forth between the girls before handing Judith back to Beth, "Thanks for watching her again Beth, and if you see Daryl let him know I'm looking for him."

"Will do," Beth said taking Judith back and folding the little girl into her arms and started to rock her.

"Alright," Rick said again with another fake looking smile to Violet, "You girls have a good day." And with that he was gone. A moment later Beth stood up and started walking around the cell bouncing Judith in her arms. She hummed another song as she walked and Violet tried to get comfortable on the bed again.

Judith fussed for a little while, but soon she was asleep. "Finally," Beth said when Judith let out a content sigh, "Hungry?"

Violet nodded as Beth walked over the bed and said, "I'll go get us some food if you sit here with her." Violet nodded and took Judith, secretly happy that she wouldn't have to leave her cell again. Beth made sure that Violet was ok before nodding and leaving the cell.

Violet let out a sigh that rivaled Judith's and sunk back against the wall. She didn't have much time to enjoy the peace and quiet when Hershel announced himself and walked into the cell. "Good afternoon Violet," Hershel said as he walked to the bed, "I just ran into Beth in the hallway, do you have a moment?" Violet eyed him for a moment then gave him a soft smile and nodded.

**(A/N – Thanks to everyone reading this story I'm very happy with how it is turning out! Special thanks to:**

** .1884 – I agree! Usually I would think that it would take him longer to come out to someone new, but I feel that in this situation he wouldn't even realize how quickly he was opening up to her until after the fact! **

**AllieKat21 – Don't you worry just remember karma can be a bitch ;) **

**DanathaKettu – Thank you so much! That's how I feel when I get reviews haha! But really, thanks you. I love that you are all keeping up with the story! **

**Guest – Thank you I hoped it didn't seem too rushed, I am trying to keep the chapters on the shorter side, but I like the pace for them so far. And thanks for the grammar comment I don't hear many reviews on grammar and pacing of stories! I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

**Thank you again for everyone that is reviewing! I can't begin to tell you how great it is to have regulars to a story! Don't forget to leave a review for this chapter and I hope you enjoy!)**


	10. Chapter 10

**(WARNING! A/N – There is some self harm in this chapter, not a lot, but I do go into it a little. If this kind of thing isn't something you want to read you can skip over that paragraph, but just know it does matter to the story and this won't be the last of it. That being said enjoy.)**

Chapter ten:

Violet cocked her head to the side as she studied Hershel. "Judith looks pretty comfortable," Hershel said and Violet nodded but didn't take her eyes off of his face. Hershel sighed and gave her a small when he realized there was no point of skirting the reason that he was here. "How are you feeling?" Hershel asked and Violet shrugged her shoulders. "Can I take a look at some of the more serious injuries?" Hershel asked and Violet nodded slowly. She turned as slowly and as carefully as she could so as not to wake up Judith so that Hershel could see her head. She heard him move and then did her best not to cringe away from him as his fingers ran through her hair to find the cut on her head. She winced when his fingers found it and he apologized.

"Still tender?" he asked and Violet nodded, "It might be for another few days, but it looks like it's healing nicely. Beth said you were able to take a shower yesterday? It'll help to keep it clean, just be careful so you don't re open it and it should be alright. I'm going to lift up the back of your shirt now. Ready?" She took a deep breath and nodded before Hershel gently lifted up her shirt. Violet hugged Judith to her a little closer as she tried to think of anything else other than Hershel seeing her beaten body.

His fingers were warm to the touch as the gently worked over the sore spots on her back. Some she could tell were bruises while others she knew were cuts just by the pain from each. Some of her larger injuries were still covered and she felt the tug of her skin as he gently pulled away the tape that held the gauze in place and she didn't realize she wasn't breathing until her chest started to hurt. She took in a shaky breath as Hershel looked at a deeper gash that ran from right above her pant line to the front where it ended on her lower stomach. She flinched more at the memory of one of the men cutting off her underwear then of Hershel prodding the injury. She leaned forward and placed Judith down on her back on the bed not wanting to accidentally squeeze her to hard.

"I'm going to put some medicine on this one," Hershel said moving away from her for a moment, "It shouldn't hurt, but I don't want this cut getting infected." Violet nodded and crossed her arms in front of her chest. When she felt Hershel's gloved hand putting the ointment on her she started digging her nails into the cut on her arm she had given herself earlier.

It had been such a long time since she had last hurt herself like this. She thought about a few of the scars that littered her body that you couldn't see unless you studied her skin very carefully, and finally she thought about the two inch scar on the inside of her left thigh. That had been the last time she had hurt herself, that was the one time where she had accidently pressed too hard. Cut to deep. When the blood didn't stop right away she had used glue and bandages to close it up. She had been so lucky that it didn't get infected, and she was lucky that it hadn't been fatal. After, she had used different ointments to reduce the ugliness of the scar, because she wanted to get rid of the memory, and even though they took away most of the scar, it was still easily seen if you knew it was there. Not that anyone had noticed in her old life.

She hated when she was weak, and in her eyes, that was one of her weakest moments. At that point in her life, when she had sat crying on the bathroom floor praying no one would walk in and see her, she made a promise to herself that she would never do anything to hurt herself like that again. She had even got a tattoo on the spots that had the most scars, her hips and the tops of her thighs. Yet, her she was, she had already broken skin. A tear slipped from her eye and she took a deep breath to stop the rest from falling.

"Doing alright?" Hershel asked and Violet nodded stiffly. "I need you to turn so I can see the rest of it," Hershel said gently. He watched as her shoulders heaved with another breath before her arms relaxed and she slowly turned around. She laid down on the bed on her side so that Hershel would be able to take care of it easier and Hershel watched as her eyes glazed over and her mind went somewhere else.

She thought about the day before as she lay there waiting for Hershel to finish. She hardly felt the bite of her nails in her palms that were clenched in fists at her side anymore as she thought about the deer. Her mind made up different scenarios of how the deer was happy and healthy on its own. She thought about Daryl and how kind he had been that day and how gentle he had been with her the last night.

Slowly she closed her eyes and imagined the forest from yesterday. The only difference was this time everything was greener and life buzzed around her. There was no dead her, no pain. She sighed and listened to the world around her. When she heard the bubbling of water she wandered over to a small river that she hadn't remembered being there before. She stilled once she reached the end because just on the other side of the river, the baby deer watched her. She smiled as the deer lowered it's head to the water to drink and as it did it grew before her eyes. It's antlers grew quickly and very large as it drank, and when it picked its head back up she smiled even more. It was a full grown buck and when it turned its head a tear fell from her eye. She saw a beautiful doe walk out of the forest with two fawns running towards the buck. When she looked back at the deer she felt as if it was smiling at her, then it turned and walked away.

The moment the deer was gone she heard a manly voice calling out to her. "Girl," Daryl called and she turned to find him. She thought he was on the other side of the river so she carefully stepped in and let the water rush over her bare feet. She closed her eyes at the soothing feeling, and when she opened them Daryl was standing in front of her and reaching out for her hand.

It wasn't until Hershel was gently pulling her hand out of a fist that she realized he was done and that it wasn't Daryl holding her hand, but Hershel's. "Doing alright darling?" he asked and she relaxed her hand in his before making eye contact and nodding. "Aright," he said, "I need you to undo your pants so I can see your legs and then I'll need to check that one bad cut on your upper stomach."

Violet found it hard to swallow as her hands shook as she attempted to undo her jeans and she hated herself for it. She never saw herself as weak, but after everything that had happened to her she was finding out that she was scared of everything and everyone. And she hated herself for it almost as much as she hated then men that had done this to her. "Let me turn around while you get undressed, you can cover everything with the blanket other then what I need to see, alright?" Hershel asked and Violet slowly nodded. She was thankful that he was being so understanding, but it was still hard for her. She waited for him to turn around before she quickly slid of her jeans and covered herself with the sheet as she tried not to disturb Judith.

"Tap my shoulder when you're done," Hershel said without turning around. When she was able to calm her breathing she reached a trembling hand up and tapped Hershel and then lowered her arm back to her side. Hershel turned slowly back to her and she closed her eyes. She had draped the blanket over her hips to her upper thighs, but she still felt naked and exposed to him. She felt tears prick at her eyes as she pulled her sweater and shirt up so that he would be able to get to that cut. "I'm going to look at your stomach first so you can be more comfortable ok?" Hershel asked and she gave him one nod.

Violet held her breath as his fingers pulled the tape back slowly and applied medicine before he dressed it again and when he was done he pulled the sweater back down over her and she gasped for air. "It's alright," Hershel said as he placed his clean hand on her shoulder, "You can cry Violet. You're safe here. No one here is going to judge you or hurt you." While she didn't look at him she did nod and allowed a few tears to fall silently from her eyes.

Hershel moved the blanket when he needed to, but he moved as quickly as he could to get this over with for her. He was almost done when Beth's voice called out from the door. "Daddy are you still in there?"

"Almost done Beth," Hershel said loud enough for Beth to hear, but hopefully quiet enough that it wouldn't disturb Judith, "I'll let you know when we are ready."

"Ok Dad," she said and then Hershel returned to dressing Violet's wounds.

"I'm turning around now so you can get dressed," Hershel said as he turned away. Violet threw her jeans on faster than she ever had before and when she was fully clothed she sat on the edge of the bed and touched Hershel's shoulder again. When he turned around she was giving him a small thank you smile. "I just have one more question for you before I let you eat your lunch," Hershel said as Violet tugged at her sweater sleeves. She watched him carefully as his eyes moved down to her arm. "Beth said she noticed some blood on your sweater," he pointed to her arm, "Did something open up?"

Violet nodded slowly.

"Is it still bleeding? Can I look at it?"

Violet shook her head no.

"The Band-Aids I left are gone. Did you take care of it yourself?" he tried again.

She nodded and watched as he reached into his bag and pulled out a few more Band-Aids in different sizes. "As long as you are ok," he said placing them on the table for her, "You'll let me know if you need help with any of them?"

She nodded as she hugged herself. Hershel gently placed his hand on her knee, and while she did jump a little, she didn't pull away. "When you're ready to talk, just know I'm ready to listen," Hershel said before standing up. "Ready for lunch?" he asked and when Violet nodded he gave her a parting smile before walking to the door and letting Beth in.

"How you feeling?" Beth asked as she handed Violet a tray. Violet did her best to give her a reassuring smile and Beth returned one. "Pork today," Beth said as she took a bite of her sandwich, "We have a few pigs here, it's nice to have real food again." Violet nodded as she grabbed the sandwich and took a big bite relishing how it tasted. When she finished the pork she looked down to see two of the four of her radishes has been cut into roses. She picked one up and looked at it. "Sorry," Beth said with a small laugh, "I got a little bored." Violet gave her a genuine smile before placing it back down and eating the other two before eating the rose cut ones. "I use to cut strawberries like that too," Beth said as she ate her own radish/rose. The rest of the lunch was in silence as the girls relaxed and ate.

"It's hot in here," Beth let out a little laugh as Judith stirred, "Want to go sit outside for a little while?" Violet shook her head no, she had already had a mini attack and she was still getting over Hershel checking her out, she didn't think she could handle more people. "If you're worried about being around everyone, I know somewhere they won't bother us. Why don't you come with us and if you don't like it you can come back in?"

Violet studied Beth for a moment before sighing and nodding her head. "Good," Beth said and stood up as she picked a now awake and hungry Judith up. When Judith had fallen asleep Beth had put everything back into the bag, so Violet picked it up and followed Beth closely as they left her cell.

**(A/N - Thanks for reading! For all the return readers… thanks for sticking around! For the new readers… I hope you're enjoying the story. Special thanks to: **

**Kaybal3**

**DanathaKettu **

**AllieKat21**

**And my guest reviewer!**

**Keep reading guys can't wait to hear from you!)**


	11. Chapter 11

**(WARNING! A/N – This chapter is going to be rough. More so of situation and wording, but just know that it does get rough and the wording may offend, but this story is rated M for a reason. Enjoy…) **

Chapter eleven:

No one had really talked to them as they left the prison walls to go sit by the garden on the other side of the prison. The setting sun made a shadow from the prison wall so as they sat on the grass on a blanket, they weren't too hot. Judith sat on the blanket enjoying being in the fresh air and playing with her toys. While Violet enjoyed being outside, she still didn't feel comfortable because someone could just walk up to them from anywhere here and it kept her on edge.

Beth talked more about some of her old life and Violet listened while looking at the different things that grew in the garden. She couldn't believe how perfect this place was, and she was almost afraid to believe that it was safe. She knew that the moment she did, it wouldn't be safe anymore. She would have to run, again. And she would be out there with those strange, awful, men still lurking around. Not to mention the walking dead. Violet did her best to relax though as the hours slipped by she found it easier and easier to do.

The shadow was almost touching the fence of the prison when Beth started burping Judith after her dinner feeding. "Ick," Beth said standing up, "I'm never going to have a clean shirt with this one around." Violet gave her a smile and almost laughed. "I'm going inside to change and I'll probably give her a bath. Everyone should be sitting down for dinner now so no one should bother you. You can stay out here if you want. Just bring in the blanket when you come?" Violet looked around before nodding and Beth was already walking away.

When Beth was out of sight Violet pulled her knees up to her chest and took a few deep breaths. There was no one here. She was alone. She was safe. She was alive. She would be ok. She repeated those thoughts over and over in her head until she felt her heart slow down. When it did she let her legs back down and got comfortable laying down on the blanket. She turned her head and looked out into the forest both wanting to be out there again, and being terrified about being out there by herself. Slowly she let her eyes closed as she took in the silence.

It didn't take long for Violet to fall asleep and when she did she dreamt about the forest scenario that she had imagined when Hershel was working on her before. This time Daryl took her hand and led her to the other side of the river where they sat and talked and laughed. The best part, Daryl called her by her real name.

"Well lookie here," a voice laughed out. Violet's eyes shot open and her dream world crashed around her when she saw Bill looming over her by her feet. She jolted into a sitting position and her hand flew to her belt to find she had left her knife in her cell. "Don't get up on my account sweet cheeks," Bill laughed as he plopped down next to her. She didn't want to run away and give him the pleasure of knowing that she was afraid of him, so she just moved away slowly. "How come yer out here all by yer pretty little self?" he asked knowing full well she wouldn't talk to him. She looked away from him and counted to ten slowly.

_1…2...3…4…5…6…7…8_ and then she felt his hand wrap around her wrist. On instinct she went to yank her hand free but he had a firm grip on it. She glared at him as he just smiled back at her. "Come on over her sugar and get comfy," he said yanking her roughly to him. She crashed into his side and before she could react he had a hold on her other wrist. She pulled back and his fingers just tightened around her wrists making her flinch. "Come on now," he said grunting, "Don't be that way." She fought him more and she knew that his fingers would leave bruises, but she would worry about that later.

When she pulled back again he let her, except he came with her, landing right on top of her. His sudden weight on her pressed her to the ground and knocked the wind from her making her gasp. Before she could even catch her breath he was pressing his mouth against her mouth and she couldn't even scream. Her sides were heaving and it felt as if knives were impaling her lungs as tears slid from her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. "Now hold still. Ya should be happy I'm even touchin ya," he said in a growl, "I heard them talkin bout ya the other day. Fucking gang raped. I bet you loved it. Ya know no other man is gonna touch ya again like that. Yer all fucked up now. Wonder if yer pussy is even tight anymore. 's a good thing ya still have yer looks girly. That's the only reason a man is gonna look twice at ya. Ya should take it when it's given to ya now. No man's gonna wanta damaged bitch like ya. Be happy I'm being so nice to ya. Hell! I'm doin' ya a favor! Your fuckin damaged goods," he spat and Violet was stunned.

'_Damaged goods,' _she thought making her still for a moment.

His breath had a musky sent to it that was only rivaled by the smell of alcohol and if that wasn't enough to make her vomit, his words did the trick. The lunch she had eaten a few hours before resurfaced, it wasn't enough to cover her, but it choked her and when she turned her head it ran out of her mouth and into her hair. She couched as Bill laughed at her. "God yer disgusting," he said and started to try to move her, "I'll just give it to ya from behind."

When Bill went to turn her over she yanked up her knee and felt it connect with his balls, hard. He started to fall over on top of her, but she managed to slide out. She scrambled to her feet and took one step forward when Bill's hand wrapped around her ankle making her fall face down into the ground. She felt heat rise up in her nose and her eyes began to water as she kicked hard back at Bill who was writhing on the ground moaning in pain. She kicked free with one solid kick to his forehead and she took off running.

She ran through the garden trampling a few plants, but she didn't care. She ran through the dinner crowd and vaguely heard her name, but she didn't care. She didn't even look up until she ran into a hard body at the bottom of the stairs. She stumbled backwards but didn't fall. "Violet?" she saw Glenn looking at her and she saw that her hands and arms were covered in blood.

"Oh my god," Maggie said and Violet could see a small crowd gathering around them.

"What happened?" Glenn said moving towards her. His hands gripped her upper arms and before Maggie could warn him otherwise, Violet lashed out. She punched Glenn square in the jaw and the moment he let go of her she pushed through Maggie and another person that had joined the crowd. "Violet!" she heard Glenn and Maggie call out but she wasn't stopping for anyone.

When she made it to her room she grabbed her towel from her shower last night and attempted to scrub away the blood on her hands. She ended up ripping the sweater off of her when she realized it was ruined and threw it to the side of the room. She then ran to the table and pulled the knife out and sat in the corner of the cell with her knife in her lap. When she saw blood dripping onto the knife she realized that her nose was still bleeding and she held the towel she had grabbed up to her nose. _Not safe. Not here. Not anywhere. Not safe. Not safe._ She heard in her head.

Seconds later Rick and Hershel entered her cell. "Violet?" Hershel said putting a hand on Rick's arm to hold him back. _Not safe. Don't let them touch you. Not safe. They'll hurt you. Not safe. Not here. Not anywhere._ "Violet can you look at me?" Hershel said and Violet forced her eyes up to his. Hershel paled at the hurt and pain in her eyes. It wasn't Violet any more, she was a cornered animal that was ready to attack anything that came to close. Even if it was help.

"Violet," Rick said holding his hands up in a non-threatening way, "You're alright now. You're safe. But you have to tell us what happened so we can keep you and everyone else safe." Rick took another step closer but stopped when her hand tightened on the knife handle.

"Violet," Hershel tried again, "Let us help you." She violently shook her head once for a no and when Rick took another step closer she jumped to her feet and held the knife in front of her ready to attack. _Not going to be the victim again. Fight. Stay alive. Fight. Live. Fight._

Right as Rick took another step closer and Violet readied herself to attack Beth ran in with Judith in her arms. "Beth!" Rick turned to yell at her for bringing Judith into this situation when he heard the knife clatter to the ground. Rick turned back around to see Violet sinking to her knees in tears. Rick quickly kicked the knife away, but Violet didn't even react. "Take Judith," Beth said as she passed Rick and handed him the baby. "Violet," Beth said calmly but didn't touch her. Violet looked up but could hardly see Beth through the tears. Violet looked up at Judith and cried harder as she gasped for air. "I'm going to touch you now. Judith is ok and so are you," Beth said as she slowly wrapped her arms around Violet in a hug,

Violet wrapped her arms around Beth as she sobbed into her shoulder. She wasn't even aware when Hershel left to go get water and clean towels, but when he came back she let Beth take her back to her bed. She sat there and Hershel cleaned her up and Rick left to go put Judith down for the night. When Hershel was finished he left as well and for the most part Violet was done crying. Beth helped her change, and Violet didn't care that Beth saw her without her clothes. Violet was already too far gone.

When Violet was changed and ready for bed Beth helped Violet to lay down and while Beth sat on the bed Violet rested her head on Beth's lap. Beth picked up the brush by the bed and gently ran it through Violet's hair. She didn't know how long they sat there but when Daryl's voice called out from the door she flinched. "Girl I'm coming in," Daryl called. Violet shook her head no.

"Daryl," Beth called out, "She wants to be alone right now."

"The hell ya mean she wants to be alone? Yer in there with 'er," he said and Violet saw the sheet move and her breath picked up. She didn't want Daryl to see her like this, not again.

"Daryl she doesn't want to see you right now. Go talk to my dad," Beth said more forcefully. Violet could tell that it shocked Daryl that Beth talked to him like that, but it didn't take long for him to get over the shock. "Whatever," Daryl said and then she heard him walk away.

Violet started crying softly knowing that Daryl was going to hear only the little bit Hershel knew, but there was no way she could talk to him now. Beth started humming at that moment the way she had when she had soothed Judith, and soon Violet was asleep.

**(A/N – Thank you for reading I know this chapter was a big step backwards, but things always get worse before they get better… right? Special thanks to:**

**Wild Wolf Otaku **

**Danathakettu**

**Keybal3**

**Also because you guys are so awesome… more than one chapter today!)**


	12. Chapter 12

**(A/N – WARNING! This chapter has self harm in it.) **

Chapter twelve:

When Violet woke up the next morning she winced at the light coming in the room. It wasn't too hot in the cell yet, but she felt warm. She heard breathing and turned to see that Beth and fallen asleep behind her in bed. She was touched that Beth would stay with her last night, but in all truth, she just wanted to be alone.

Slowly she tried to get out of bed without waking Beth up, but the moment she moved the blanket, Beth's eyes fluttered open. "Morning," Beth said as she sat up and stretched, "How are you feeling?" Violet hated the look of pity in Beth's eyes, but she shrugged her shoulders anyway. "I'm going to go get daddy and I'll grab us some breakfast and you some ice," Beth said as she started to get up. Violet's hand darted out and grabbed Beth's wrist as she shook her head no. Somehow Beth knew that Violet was saying no to Hershel. "He really needs to check you Violet," Beth said trying to understand. But when Violet continued to shake her head Beth gave her the best smile she could. "Ok," Beth said moving towards the door, "Maybe after we eat."

The moment Beth slipped out the door Violet started to put on her day clothes, the more things she could put on, the better. Just as she pulled the new sweater over her head, Bill walked into her room. "We need ta talk," he said quietly. Immediately Violet reached for her knife, but it wasn't there. However, Beth's had fallen out on the bed when she had left and Violet flipped it so the blade was aimed at Bill.

"Now don't be like that," Bill said with his hands up, "I ain't told no body what happened. I spect ya'll do the same." He said that part with a chuckle. Violet admired the large bruise she had left on his forehead and wondered how nobody had questioned him about it yet. When he took a step toward her she crouched low, ready to strike. "Just remember what I said, I was doin' ya a favor, next time I won't be so gentle," Bill said before he turned and snuck out of her room.

_Damaged goods._

Violet tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down, but it wasn't working. She was shaking so bad that the knife fell from her hands and clattered loudly to the floor. She couldn't breathe as she sank to her knees on the floor. She looked around the room for something, anything, that could help her. That was when her eyes fell on the knife in front of her. _'No! I don't need it,'_ she thought over and over. But when she thought her heart was about to beat out of her chest, her fingers wrapped around the handle.

_Damaged goods. _

Quickly she yanked down the sweats that came to her knees that Beth had dressed her in the night before. She leaned her back against the wall as she pressed the knife tip to the inside of her left thigh just under her other scar and slowly pressed down. She felt the bite of the blade as she slowly began to pull it across her skin. She stopped when she reached the start of her tattoo and pulled the knife away. She looked down at the white line that was hardly the length of her pinky as small beads of blood began to appear on her skin. The pain brought her mind away from her racing heart and her breathing settled. Tears still streamed from her eyes as she dug the knife tip a little higher on the inside of her thigh, just under a cut that was healing from her attackers.

She repeated the action once more on her left thigh twice more and then moved to her right thigh. This time the knife bit into her twice. She hardly felt the pain anymore as she watched the blood run over her skin, she almost felt numb. She started to dig the tip of the knife into the inside of her right thigh one more time when Beth gasped at the door to her cell. Violet jumped at Beth's intrusion and the blade sunk into her skin making Violet yelp. Immediately blood gushed out and Violet dropped the knife as she looked around for anything to stop the bleeding, just like when she had cut her other thigh. She looked up to see Beth run out of the room and Violet leaned back against the wall letting the numb feeling take over her. She knew that the cut wouldn't kill her, but she didn't have the energy, or the want, to take care of herself now. Beth had seen her, on more levels than one, and now nobody would look at her the same way again.

Seconds later Hershel and Beth came rushing into the room with a medical kit. Violet didn't even budge when Hershel talked to her. Beth took the knife away from Violet and knelt down next to her father. They worked quickly and quietly while Violet let her mind wander. Beth pulled Violet's pants back up and helped her to bed. Violet didn't fight back or even look at Beth.

Hershel sighed, said something to Beth, then he left the room. Beth sat in the chair by Violet's bed and watched her for the longest time.

"Violet," Beth called out and Violet slowly looked up to look at her, "I wish I knew your real name. I wanted to let you know you aren't alone." Slowly Beth rolled up her sleeves on her white sweater and held her wrist out to Violet.

"Look," she said showing Violet her wrist up close, "We were back at the farm. The group was small than everyone here at the prison, but there are a few people you didn't get to meet. Andrea, Shane, Dale, Lori, she was Judith's mother, T-dog, Otis, Patricia and Jimmy. Jimmy was my boyfriend. We lost them all. But before that, my dad, Maggie, Patricia and Otis, and Jimmy and I we were keeping the walkers in the barn on the farm. My mother was in there. So was my step brother. Daddy thought that there was a cure. That they could be saved. We know better now. But Shane, he was Rick's friend, he didn't like that we kept them there, and one day, in front of all of us. He killed them. I don't know who shot my mother, but when I saw her fall. I lost it. I ran to my mother and she attacked me. They got her before she could get me, but I watched my mother die three times. After that things are kind of a blur. I went into shock and when I came out, I slit my wrists in the bathroom. Lori and Maggie saved me and daddy patched me up. But I came close. You're not alone in this. I'm here. I understand. And I want you to know that daddy and I are not gonna tell anyone."

At that last part Violet sat up and looked at Beth before she threw her arms around her and hugged her. Beth hugged her back and they actually cried together for a moment before they pulled away. "Oh," Beth said getting up and walking to the door, "I forgot." Beth picked something up and then walked back to Violet. "Here," she said snapping the package in her hands, "It's one of those ice packs that don't get cold until you move them around. For your nose."

Violet nodded a thank you and took the ice pack before placing it on her nose and around her swollen eyes. She didn't think she broke her nose, but she hit it hard enough to know she had bruises under her eyes. They sat there in silence for a while longer before Beth stood back up and told Violet that she was going to get them the lunch. Violet sat on the edge of her bed nursing her nose and waiting for Beth to come back when Rick called to enter her room. Slowly Rick moved the sheet and walked in to see Violet watching him carefully. He was holding Judith and when he got closer to Violet he asked, "Do you want to hold her?"

Violet was shocked and Rick chuckled a little. "I know you wouldn't hurt her. You're a good person," Rick said handing her Judith. Judith reached out for her and Violet hugged the little girl to her, almost crying again. "This would be a lot easier if you talked to me," Rick sighed after Violet got Judith comfortable on her lap. Violet gave him a quick half smile and Rick continued. "I need to know what happened yesterday," Rick said quietly, "A lot of people are scared. And we are worried about you."

Violet looked away and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I know you don't want to talk but," before Rick could finish his sentence Daryl was yelling outside her door. "Why the hell didn't ya tell me last night!" Daryl yelled. Hershel responded to Daryl but in a lower voice so that she couldn't hear what he said.

"This isn't going to be good," she heard Rick mutter before Daryl stormed into the room.

"Daryl she doesn't want you in there right now," Beth yelled from further away. Daryl froze in the door to her cell. He didn't say anything as he took five long steps to stand in front of her. Rick had taken Judith back the moment Daryl entered the room and now Daryl was on his knees in front of her with his hand gripping her chin. She tried to pull away from him but he didn't let go of her. His eyes slowly took in her face and she blushed when she saw Rick shift his weight out of the corner of her eye.

"Who did this to you?" Daryl said almost in a whisper.

"Daryl she doesn't want you in here," Beth said walking into the room with two trays of food.

"Who did this to her?" Daryl asked Rick without even looking at him.

"We don't know yet," Rick said and put a hand on Daryl's shoulder. Beth walked over and put the food on the floor next to the bed. "You ok?" Beth asked as she moved Daryl's hand away from Violet's face. Violet was grateful to Beth now that Daryl wasn't holding her face, but she actually missed the contact. Violet nodded and Daryl stood up quickly. "Ya mean to tell me the sick fuck that did this to 'er is still out there?" Daryl asked in a growl to Rick.

"She wouldn't talk to us last night Daryl. She was hardly responsive," Rick said.

"_She_," Beth started, "Is right here."

"It was Bill wasn't it," Daryl growled out putting a hand on either side of Violet's legs as he leaned over her trying to get her to look at him. "Wasn't it!" Daryl barked at her.

"We can't go making accusations if she doesn't tell us who it was," Rick said.

"Girl," Daryl said quietly, but she could still hear the rage in his voice, "Was. It. Bill." When she still wouldn't look at him Daryl pressed his forehead against her's and asked her once more.

Slowly, Violet nodded.

"I'm going ta kill that fucker," Daryl stood up and turned quickly but Violet caught his hand. He turned and took a breath to say something, but when he saw her face the breath left him. Tears were streaming down her face and he couldn't bring himself to pull away from her. He turned back to face her and sank back down to his knees. "Did he," Daryl started to say but it seemed he couldn't finish the sentence.

Violet shook her head no.

"He tried though," Rick said reminding Violet that Rick and Beth were still in the room.

Violet nodded but didn't take her eyes off of Daryl. "Alright," Rick said then he patted Daryl on the shoulder and Daryl nodded without taking his eyes off of Violet. Beth and Rick left the room, and the moment that the sheet fell back into place she launched herself off the bed and into Daryl. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder and cried.

Daryl stilled the moment she touched him and he wasn't entirely sure how to comfort her. But as she sobbed onto his shoulder his heart ached for her and when she started trembling and started to pull away Daryl wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. She tightened her grip around him and cried harder. Daryl shifted so that he was sitting down with his back against the wall and her legs resting on either side of him so she was straddling him.

He gently stroked her hair as she continued to cry and he mentally kicked himself. If he had only taken her with him, this wouldn't have happened. It seemed to him no matter what he did he was never good enough to keep pain away from her. But he knew that staying away from her was definitely not the answer, and he would never leave her alone again.

**(A/N – Thanks for reading! I hope you're liking the story so far keeping leaving the lovely reviews!)**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen:

Daryl held Girl to him until she stopped crying and she pulled away. He dropped his arms from around her but she didn't move away from him. Instead, she kept her eyes focused on his as she moved her hands to his cheeks. Slowly she moved her head and rested her forehead against his. Daryl didn't move when she touched him, and he didn't pull away from her when her head touched his. If she wanted to touch him, he would let her, but he wasn't going to touch her unless she asked him too.

Girl didn't sit like that for long, just long enough for Daryl to know that she was thanking him for staying with her. For caring about her and wanting to protect her. To let him know that she didn't blame him, even after he had left her there. And even without words, Daryl understood her. Even while Daryl didn't believe that this wasn't all his fault, he understood everything she was thinking.

When she dropped her hands Daryl helped her up onto her bed. After the moment on the floor that they had shared, she wouldn't meet his eyes. And if Daryl was completely honest with himself, he hated that she wouldn't look him in the eyes. That was the only way they communicated and he wasn't sure she was ok, and he needed her to reassure him. The moment that Daryl understood that was the reason he wanted her to look at him, he got angry at himself. He was supposed to be reassuring her that she would be ok and that they would take care of Bill, she wasn't supposed to be reassuring him. "When was the last time ya ate?" Daryl asked trying to get her to look at him.

She shrugged as she picked at a loose string that hung off of her blanket. Daryl stood next to the bed trying to think of what to do when she reached out and touched his hand. It was at that moment that he realized his hands had been in fists at his side and they were shaking. Girl brushed her fingers over the outside of his clenched fist before taking his hand into hers. At first she didn't look up at him and he wondered how long he had been shaking for. When she finally looked up at him and met his eyes, he was relieved for a split second before he saw the worry in her eyes. "Ya don't have ta worry bout yerself," Daryl started to say but then stopped when he saw the confusion in her eyes. And then he knew that she wasn't worried about herself, she was worried about him.

More so she was worried about what he was going to do. She had seen the anger in him that not many people could see unless it was too late. But she had seen it, and he turned his eyes away from her not wanting her to see any more than he wanted her to see. She tugged on his hand and he looked back at her in time for her to pull him a little harder so that he had to sit on the edge of the bed to keep from tripping. He sat down but tried to keep his distance as she moved further onto the bed. "Ya should eat," he said not looking at her again. It was bothering her to see he was putting a wall up between them and it seemed like there was nothing that she could do to stop it. However, he hadn't pulled his hand away from her yet.

She gave his hand a soft squeeze and he just looked at their hands. He had thought about pulling away, but when he had felt how soft her skin was he looked down to see it. Her hand look so small in his and her skin looked so pale compared to his tanned and dirt covered hand. He knew his hands were rough from calluses from years and years of hunting and working with his hands. He wondered if she hated how harsh his hand felt against hers, but when she had squeezed his hand, he thought for a moment that maybe she didn't mind. Her hand was cool in his, and she was still shivering from when he had been yelling early when Rick had been in the room.

Slowly he wrapped his fingers around her hand and she smiled up at him. He wanted to smile back at her, let her know that everything was ok. But when he saw the bruises on her face from her latest attack it took everything he had not to shake her off and go beat Bill within an inch of his life.

"We need ta eat," Daryl said trying again to ease the tension in the room. He wanted to leave, to go out into the woods until he could think right, but he wasn't going to leave her. "Where's yer knife?" he asked looking to her table as he thought about taking her out with him. Maybe they both needed to get away for a little while. When he looked back to her she was pulling her hand away from his wasn't meeting his eyes again. He knew they wouldn't get anywhere at this rate. "Fine," Daryl said standing up and she looked panicked for a minute when she looked up at him, "I ain't leavin' ya Girl. Gonna pack up n then we are headin' out for the day." She studied him for a moment before nodding. "Ya gonna be ok fer a minute or ya want me ta get Beth?" Daryl asked.

Girl gave him a small smile and shook her head no. Daryl nodded and walked to the door where he stopped and turned to look at her one more time. He knew there was something that she was hiding from him, but he wasn't going to push now. He nodded to her before ducking out of the door and going to his cell.

He grab his pack and then hurried down to pack them something to eat. He didn't talk to anyone when they tried to get his attention, he didn't trust himself to not explode on someone if they asked or said the wrong thing. Even when Carol tried to talk to him while he was packing the food, he just brushed her off.

By the time he got back to Girl's cell she was sitting on the edge of her bed in black skinny jeans, a black pair of hiking boots, and a knitted beige sweater over a purple tank top. Her hair was parted down the side of her head so that most of the hair covered her face effectively hiding most of the bruises on her face. "Girl," he said when he walked up to her, "It's hot out."

She nodded when she looked up at him and some of her hair fell from her face. When he saw the bruises so close again he swallowed hard. He nodded and didn't press the matter of clothing any further as he waited for her to stand up. He watched her chest rise when she took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself. He saw her hands shake a little as she left the bed and stood on her own. Her legs shook and she did her best to steady herself, and as he watched her he wondered if this would be the best thing for her.

But when she looked up at him and he saw everything in her eyes he knew that she needed to get out as bad as he did. And if he wasn't careful getting her out of here, he knew from the look in her eyes, that she would break and strike out at anything or anyone that came to close to her. He had already seen what she had done to Glenn when Maggie and Glenn had tried to help her the day that Bill had attacked her. He had chuckled inwardly when he had seen the damage she had done with such little effort. Her attack on Glenn had actually knocked the man on his ass and Daryl got a kick out of it because he knew that now everyone would stop thinking she was weak and afraid. He knew that she was cautious, and probably a little afraid of people, but she had a right to be. But she was still strong and if she had the change he knew that should could defend herself.

"Come on," he said when she was standing firmly on her own two feet. She nodded to him and stuck close to his side on the way out. When they were just about to leave the prison Girl caught sight of Bill's group and when they stopped talking to watch her she hurried herself closer to Daryl. He looked down at her when their arms bumped together and looked to see what she was staring at. It was the group that Bill had come with and he wasn't sure if they were angry with her or just not sure how to react to whatever news Rick had given them about Bill. "It's alright," Daryl said lowly so she could hear him. Girl nodded and slid her hand into the crook of Daryl's arm. Daryl stiffened, but he knew she needed him to be there for her, so he didn't pull away.

She let go of him and relaxed the minute they were out of the prison. Daryl looked down at her once more to make sure she was ok and found that his arm was a little cold from where her hand had left him. "Goin out," Daryl called and two people Girl didn't know yet moved to open the gates and within minutes she found herself out in the woods with Daryl again. And for the first time in hours Girl felt like she could breathe.

"Ya alright?" Daryl said walking slowly so that she could keep up with him. She nodded her head and Daryl gave her a nod before focusing on where he was going. He had to admit that he was impressed with how quietly she moved through woods, but he kept finding himself looking back to check if she was still there. And every time he turned around there she was, arm's length away from him, and strangely enough to him, that was just how he wanted it.

As they walked Girl was just happy that she was out of the prison and away from all the people who crowded her. She was happy that no one was trying to force her to talk, and she was grateful that Beth had been caring for her, but she needed to breathe. And in the prison, she just couldn't seem to find enough air. Girl wasn't really paying attention and she almost ran into Daryl's back when he stopped without a word. "Easy," he said turning around and grabbing her one shoulder. She jumped at his touch and hated that she did, she knew that he wasn't going to hurt her, and she saw the hurt flash in his eyes before he quickly let go of her.

Daryl turned away from her and wondered if that was how everyone else at the prison felt. She had never really reacted that way when he had touched her, she never seemed to show that she was afraid of him. But this time, when he saw the fear in her eyes, he hated himself. It was his fault that she was attacked, he had left her there and now she didn't trust him. Daryl was deep inside his mind when a soft warm hand landed on his bicep. He turned his head slowly to see Girl looking up at him with a small apologetic smile on her face. "No Girl," he said stepping away from her, "Ya ain't got nothin' ta be sorry fer. I shouldn't of left ya. 'orry."

Girl frowned and he watched as her eye brows came together in a confused look. Slowly she picked her hand up and touched her nose and one dark circle under her eye as if asking him if that was what he was talking about. When Daryl nodded Girl shook her head no furiously and Daryl could see the sadness in her eyes. She wasn't blaming him and somehow that made him angrier at himself, but also a little relieved. "Come on," he said, "Got somethin' I want ta show ya." Girl sighed knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with Daryl on that topic and when Daryl started walking away she waited for a moment.

The sun was beating down and the sweater that she had on was cooking her alive. She thought about taking it off, but she still didn't want Daryl to see her cuts and bruises. To anyone else, they didn't look terrible, but to Girl, they were the ugly and she didn't want Daryl to see her that way. "Come on," Daryl called wanting to get her to where he was going and not thinking about how she might be overheating. She grabbed a water bottle Daryl had thrown to her and took a drink before hurrying to catch up with him.

When she did, she stumbled over a tree root and Daryl caught her. But when she stood back up she felt as if the air had been knocked out of her. The trees had cleared and had formed around a beautiful little river that looked about waist deep and there were some natural rock formations on one side. It looked so similar to her dream that she didn't realize how hard she was squeezing Daryl's hand until she looked down to see small crescent shapes deep in his skin. She immediately let go and Daryl looked at her with a confused expression.

Tears pricked her eyes before she launched herself at him in a hug. This place was beautiful and it was just what she needed. Daryl was shocked by her sudden outburst but once he regained his composure he let his arms awkwardly circle around her to hug her back. He didn't know the true reason that she was acting this way, but he could guess that she was feeling the exact same way he did when he found this place. There was air here for them both to breathe.

**(A/N – Ok so we are pretty much done with the negative stuff that's been happening to our poor Girl, it doesn't mean that she is cured, but the bad things that follow our group around are taking a small vacation so that Girl can heal. Anyway! Thank you so much for reading, I just wanted to give you all some hope! Special thanks to: **

**Corina27 – I think you will be very excited for the chapters to come!**

**Kaybal3 – Thank you so much I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

**AllieKat21 – I love that you are one of the big followers of the story and that you're catching up on everything, I know how life can get in the way sometimes. I thought that it would be easy for Beth to get close to Violet because in a way she isn't too much different than a child at this point and Beth is a naturally motherly person. Violet is learning to be around people again and I thought Beth would be the best person for her to become comfortable with. **

**Wild Wolf Otaku**

**Guest – I feel like everyone that saw how Bill was reacting towards Violet could have guessed, but I think that Daryl will always be much faster at putting two and two together because of his past and everything that he has been through. **

**Danathakettu – I love hearing from you! (Even when you don't log in!) It means so much to me to see my readers leaving reviews. It lets me know that there are still people out there reading my story and this one hasn't gone to the walkers! If the reviews keep going up I'll probably start posting twice a week in all honesty, it makes me want to write more! That being said, it was a little hard to write this chapter (I get so attached to my characters), but it is all necessary to her development in the chapters to come, I promise! I'm happy you're still here and reading it hope you enjoy this chapter as well. **

**Hikari-hime 01 – Hope I didn't disappoint!**

**SaphiraRyuuka **

**I love reading all your comments! Thank you so much all of you! This is by far one of my favorite stories and I hope that you're enjoying it just as much as I am!)**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

When she stepped away from Daryl he was looking at everything but her. She tilted her head to the side in a silent question but Daryl didn't answer, he just walked over to the side of the water where trees had cast a shadow over the grass. Sitting down he started pulling out their lunches and then looked back up at Girl when he noticed that she wasn't coming to sit next to him. "Come on," he said and her head snapped back up and she walked quickly over to him before kneeling bending to sit down. Daryl had turned back to the food when he saw her moving and the next thing he knew, she fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Girl had been fighting with herself about taking off her sweat soaked sweat shirt but she felt awkward just taking it off in front of Daryl. She knew what her body looked like, and even though most of her was covered with band aids, she still felt ugly. When Daryl had moved and started unpacking, her eyes focused on the cool water and she dazed out. It wasn't until Daryl spoke to her that she snapped back to reality. The ground seemed to be tilting under her as she picked one foot up at a time and she felt like bricks were attached to each one. She could hear her heart beating in her head as she stood before Daryl, and as she bent to sit down, the ground rushed up to meet her and then everything went black.

"Hey," Daryl called moving quickly to her side. He picked her head up and checked it with his fingers and when he didn't feel anything abnormal he rolled her onto her back. Her face was flushed and the moment he touched her skin he knew what had happened. She hadn't eaten all day, he had made her trek through the woods, and she hadn't taken off that damn sweater. Quickly but carefully, he took off her sweat shirt and used a bandana out of his pocket. Dipping the bandana into the stream he pulled it out and rung out most of the water before he wiped it around her face as gently as he could before running it down her neck and over her exposed skin from her chest to her arms.

When he dipped the rag into the water again he saw her shift. He was back to her side in an instant. "Girl," he said placing the wet cloth over her face again trying to get her to open her eyes, "Come on Girl. Wake up." She flinched away from him but she hadn't opened her eyes yet and he didn't take it to heart. "Come on Girl," he tried again, "It's me. It's Daryl."

The first time she opened her eyes again the sun blinded her for a moment. "Tha's it," Daryl said, "Open 'em." Slowly her eyes adjusted to the sun and she blinked away the black spots that swam around in her vision. She looked up at Daryl with confusion in her eyes. "Ya overheated," Daryl said roughly brushing the wet hair from her face, "Passed out. The hell were ya thinkin? Why didn't ya take off that damn sweatshirt?"

Girl looked down and realized that he had taken it off of her and she brought her arms up to cover herself. She still had her shirt on, but with all of her cuts and bruises exposed to him she felt naked. "Ya worried 'bout them cuts still?"

When she looked away and nodded Daryl's hands curled into fists and he was gritting his teeth to keep from yelling at her. He took a deep breath and placed a hand on her arm before pulling it away from her body. At first she didn't let him pull her arm away, but when their eyes met she slowly let him move her arm away. "They aren't bad," he said putting her arm down to her side, "most of 'em probably won't even scar."

She cringed at the word and her arm started to move back up to cover her and Daryl knew that he had used to wrong word. "Yer ain't gonna look like mine Girl," he said and held his hand out to her, "Yer gonna great when yer all healed up. Ya want ta try and sit now?" Daryl asked hoping to change the subject, he felt as if he had said too much and he didn't want things to get awkward after he admitted that she looked good to him.

Slowly she slid her hand into his and he helped her up. She moved slowly and he didn't rush her as she sat up fully. "Wait," Daryl said quickly as he dropped her hand. He moved and grabbed his bow without making a sound and returned to Girl's side. They both watched and waited to see what would come through the bushes, neither of them made a sound.

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me," Daryl said with a hint of a laugh to his voice. Girl craned her neck to see and all of a sudden she saw a deer coming out of the brush. She gasped and Daryl actually jumped a little at the sudden sound. When he turned to look at her she wasn't looking at him. She was looking straight ahead at the young deer who had just come out of the bushes and over to the edge of the water for a drink. It looked at them for only a moment then returned to drinking the water. Daryl put his bow back on the ground before getting the rest of the food out from earlier while Girl continued to watch the deer with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.

She couldn't believe it was the same deer, but by the look Daryl had given her, and the way that he had responded, she was certain that it was the same deer. She watched for a little while before the deer wandered off back into the woods. She almost pinched herself to make sure she wasn't back in her dream from earlier, this was just all way too good to be true. She waited for another moment before turning back to see Daryl had already started to eat. "Go on," he said motioning to the food. She smiled at him and cleaned her face of any leftover tears before she grabbed some food and started eating.

By the time they had finished their food, Girl had completely forgotten that she hadn't had a sweatshirt on, and she was actually comfortable. Daryl had watched her from under his long hair, glancing up through it only when he was sure that she wasn't looking. He had noticed that even with what had happened to her out in these woods, she didn't seem afraid to be out in them. At least when he was with her, he wondered if she would be as comfortable if he wasn't here.

Daryl had finished his food and had turned to face the water, still keeping an eye on her when he thought she wasn't looking. Girl, of course, hadn't seen him watching her. She had seen him looking at her every now and then, but she had brushed it off and just enjoyed being outside. And when she had finished her food she looked back to Daryl to find that he wasn't even watching her anymore, he was looking at the water. "It's hot," he said before pulling off his blue and black sleeveless button down flannel leaving him in a white wife beater. Girl watched as the shirt clung to his body and she felt a strange tightening in her lower stomach.

Quickly she looked away, she didn't want to have those feeling for the only person she felt comfortable around. She didn't want to make things awkward, not now, not with him. She sighed and turned her head back to him in time to see him sinking into the river. She felt her heart beat faster for a moment when she noticed that he had taken off his wife beater and his jeans laid on the ground folded with his bow on top of them within his reach. She felt heat rush to her cheeks and blamed it on the heat of the day before she reached for a pony tail holder and fixed her hair into a sloppy bun before looking back to Daryl.

"Why don't you cool down," Daryl said more than he asked. She knew that he was telling her that she needed to cool down, but she wasn't sure she would be able to be undressed so close to him, and in the day light where he would be able to see her every flaw. Picking up her arms and wrapping them around herself so shook her head no. Daryl sighed and looked at her while she looked at the ground. "Put that on," he said pointing to the ground at his button down shirt, "I won't watch. Ya can wear it in the water. I don't care." With the Daryl turned his back to her.

Girl sighed as she looked at his back. She could see many of the angry welts that were permanent scars on his back. She knew there were more than just the ones she could see from this distance, and she wondered if he had ever shown anyone his scars, other than her.

With that thought in mind she decided that his shirt would be long enough on her, and more than that, she could trust him. She knew that he wouldn't look at her until she was ready, but she was still moving faster than normal. She turned her back to Daryl and slid off her jeans as she grabbed the shirt Daryl had left on the ground. She slipped off her shirt, leaving her in her bra and panties, before slipping Daryl's shirt on. As she buttoned it up, thankful that it covered the bandages on her thighs, she caught Daryl's smell on the shirt. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and the smell seamed to calm her.

When she opened her eyes she found she wasn't as nervous anymore. She tugged the shirt down her thighs a little more and then turned and walked to the water's edge. Daryl still didn't look at her as she stepped on foot into the cool water. Slowly, she moved her body so that both legs were in the water and she wadded into the water. When she sat down the water hit her mid chest and she tried to get comfortable while the water pulled at her as if trying to drag her away from the thoughts and worries that surrounded her.

"Feel better?" he asked and she nodded as she leaned her head back and enjoyed the coolness of the water and the heat of the sun. Daryl didn't say anything after that, he just studied her while he could. Her head was tilted back, eyes closed, and she had a small smile on her face. His shirt was long on her, she almost looked like a child in his shirt, but the way that the shirt clung to her made him think of her in every way _but_ a child. The water moved the shirt slightly over her thighs, he wasn't able to see far into the water, but he could see some sort of tattooed design there. He wanted to slide his shirt up and see what she had there, but he knew that was over stepping their boundaries. His eyes traveled back up her body to see where his shirt was pressed against her stomach and her chest. He was thankful the water was as cold as it was as his eyes rested on her chest for longer than he had planned. When he finally pulled his eyes away, he was disgusted with himself.

She was trusting him to not look at her that way, yet here he was, getting turned on and staring at her like she was a prized deer and he had to have her to claim for his own. He went to turn away but saw the intricate tattoo on her left shoulder that faded down to her arm and stopped a little before her elbow. It looked like an intricate dream catcher formed on her shoulder and pink, purple and blue flowers surrounded it with delicate lines drawn through them making it seem like lace was tattooed there. How had he not noticed it before? He had seen her without her sweatshirt on before, so why hadn't he noticed it. That was when he saw the bright pink welt peeking out from under her arm and it stopped half way into the flowers of her tattoo.

Her shoulder had been wrapped then. He was happy that she was letting her wounds heal, but seeing them still made him angry. Angry that he couldn't find the men that did this to her, angry that he couldn't keep the bad from finding her, angry that she was so embarrassed by her body, and angry that there didn't seem to be a damn thing that he could do to really help her.

He was still studying her shoulder when she opened her eyes. At first she thought he was looking at her cuts and bruises, but then she remembered he had never seen her tattoos before. Suddenly his eyes snapped up to her and she swore he blushed before he covered his face with his hair and turned away. She smiled and, shakily, drifted through the water to sit next to him so that her tattooed shoulder was at his side. She nudged him with her shoulder and gave him a small, slightly awkward smile.

Daryl rolled his eyes but looked back down to her shoulder. It was even more beautiful up close. Here he could see the way the light and dark colors contrasted with her skin and it amazed him. His fingers twitched as they yearned to trace the dark lines on her skin. He curled his hands into fists at his sides and hoped that she didn't notice. When he looked back up at her face she was looking out into the woods and he sighed thinking that he had made her uncomfortable.

He started to pick up his hand to get her attention so that he could apologize, but that was when he noticed the water. Through the light current he could see bandaged trying to escape from her thighs, and then the water had tints of pink in it. Quickly he grabbed her arm and pulled her up out of the water. "Yer bleeding," he said as he got out of the water. She looked down to see the streams of pink running down her thighs.

"Come on," he said pulling her further out of the water, "We gotta stop it." When she wasn't moving on her own Daryl looked up at her face. "What?" he asked when she wouldn't meet his eyes, "Girl, what happened?" Daryl knew she had been cut up on her thighs, but he didn't remember anything that would bleed so easily right now. When she still wouldn't answer him he got frustrated, more so because she was starting to scare him. He walked closer to her and grabbed the hem of his shirt before thrusting it up to see her thighs.

She didn't gasp or pull away like he thought she would, instead, she just stood there with her head hanging down and her arms hanging limp at her sides. These cuts were new, and deep. "Bill do this?" Daryl growled. Girl didn't answer him. "Did Bill do this!" Daryl yelled at her snapping her back into the present. She shook her head no. "Then who!" he yelled and she looked away from him again. "Look at me Girl," he said dropping the shirt and grabbing her by the upper arms making her wince a little. When she finally looked at him in the eyes, he got all the answers he needed. "Ya did this to yerself," Daryl said and she looked away before slowly nodding her head.

**(A/N – I'm sorry that this chapter is late! I had some family issues that I needed to take care of and in all honestly I wasn't sure when I was going to get this up. Luckily my amazing boyfriend helped me out today and I was able to sit down and relax for a few minutes. So I hope you enjoyed this! Special thanks to: **

**Danathakettu – I had actually planned on posting twice this week but things got so crazy… and I think I might have broken my tail bone so I haven't been able to sit down and work on this for a while. I'm glad that you are still here and reviewing! It makes me so happy that people are regulars to my story! But that's the thing about Violet, I want people to be able to see her hit rock bottom and then continue to grow. So many people deal with issues where there never seems to be a way up, but there will always be hope if you know where to look for it, and that's what I want her to find. **

**Corina27 – You can trust me when I say they will get closer to each other, but it is going to take some time, there are going to be some rather big setbacks. But hang in there!**

**Wild Wolf Otaku – Good to hear from you again! I'm glad you're still here and enjoying the story! It's alright if you don't know what to say, just letting me know if you liked the chapter or not is good to hear. Even just a 'hi' is better than nothing lol! It let's me know that you are still enjoying the story!**

**Kaybal3 – I thought so too! I know Daryl wouldn't be comfortable with that, but just picturing it in my head made me laugh a little as I saw him trying to be comfortable and trying to figure out what to do with someone like her.**

**CGirl143 – Thank you so much! I hope you keep reading!**

**As always I looooove hearing from you guys, so keep up the reviews!) **


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

When Girl finally looked back up to meet his eyes she could see the anger that warred in them. When she started to pull away Daryl's grip tightened around her arms in an almost painful tension. She stilled when he didn't so much as blink we she winced. "The fuck were ya thinkin?" he asked in a whisper that scared her more than if he had actually screamed at her. She didn't know how to respond to him, and that wasn't enough for Daryl. He shook her once before raising his voice. "Why? Yer worried about the scars that ya got n yer making more of em?"

Girl looked away.

"No!" he shook her once more, "Ya look me in ma eyes! I found ya! I saved ya! And now that I got ya safe yer gonna kill yerself?"

Girl shook her head no while tears started to stream down her face. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live, and she knew that now more than before. She wasn't giving up.

Daryl dropped his hands from her arms and she took a step away and wrapped her arms around herself suddenly feeling very naked. Daryl turned away from her and stalked to the edge of the forest and then back several times before stopping in front of her. "Ya think I can't protect ya? Is that it?" he was yelling again and Girl couldn't get the tears to stop. She shook her head no again but Daryl didn't seem to believe her. "Whatever. Ya want ta kill yerself? Do it. I don't have time to waste on someone who don't wanta live," he said walking over to his clothes and putting his jeans on when he realized he still hadn't gotten dressed.

Girl stood there unsure of what to do as she watched Daryl get dressed. He was leaving her. He was walking away from her and she didn't know what to do. She wanted to call out for him, but she just couldn't seem to find her voice.

Daryl was still packing up his things when Girl handed him his shirt. He didn't turn to look at her and when he finished packing he turned to grab his shirt. He had planned on walked right pass her, taking his shirt and walking back to the prison. But the moment he saw her standing there, the breath was knocked out of him and he stood there with his hand half reached out to the shirt. She was standing there with his shirt held out to him with one arm while the other was down at her side. She wasn't stepping away from him, and she wasn't trying to cover herself. She was standing there in just her underwear, her very wet underwear.

But that wasn't what Daryl focused on. She wasn't standing there to try to seduce him. She was showing him all of herself, she was showing him everything that she tried to hide, what she didn't want anyone to see. And yet she was showing him. Her eyes stayed locked on his face as he looked her over once, taking note of how amazingly everything was healing in the short time she had been here. Most of her cuts had healing scabs over them and he knew that in a few more days they wouldn't leave a trace. Her bruises that were ugly shades of red black and purples were now fading into yellows and lights browns and he was able to start to see what she had looked like before the attack.

Now he was sure that she had been beautiful, and she would be again. He just wished she could see that. Quickly he moved up to her and cupped her face in his hands. He heard the shirt drop and her breath catch in her throat. She was scared, but not of him, she was scared of what he thought of her now that he had seen everything. "Never hurt yerself again. Got it?" he said quietly as he leaned his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath before nodding. "Good girl," he said and pulled her to him in a clumsy hug. He didn't know how she was going to react, but the moment he pulled her to him she wrapped her arm around him and he could feel her finger nails digging into his shoulders as she cried against his chest. Slowly he sank to the ground and held her in his lap, and she never once let him go.

Daryl leaned over and grabbed his almost dried shirt and placed it around her shoulders. He was happy that it was still damp because the sun was beating down today and he didn't want her passing out again. She shivered when the shirt touched her and held herself tighter to Daryl's chest. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but tears still trickled down her cheeks. She had cried before, but she hadn't let herself believe that she was safe before now, and when she finally realized that, she let everything she was holding back catch up to her. And Daryl didn't seem to mind, which only made her cry more. She didn't deserve someone that could care about her like this.

"Hey," Daryl said after a little while, "Girl?"

She looked up at him after trying to brush away her tears.

"I ain't gonna let nothin happen ta ya as long as I'm here. Alright? But ya gotta swear ta me that yer done with that shit. I never wanta see ya do that again. Got it?"

Girl nodded and a tear slipped from her eyes.

"Alright," Daryl said as he used his thumb to brush away the stray tear, "Yer gonna be fine."

Girl nodded and rested her forehead against his again and closed her eyes. Daryl's hand found the back of her neck and he held her to him. "Yer safe," he said waiting for her to open her eyes before he said it again. When she did open her eyes Daryl's breath caught and he wondered if he was ever going to get used to seeing those bright purple eyes. "Yer safe," he said again a little quieter. She nodded and he let her go.

"Come on," he said helping her to stand up, "Gotta wrap ya back up before we keep goin."

She cocked her head to the side in question as she started taking off the dirty bandages.

"We still have ta look for something to bring back," Daryl said pulling the first aide kit out of the pack and walking back over to her.

She looked up at him in panic.

"Ain't gonna shoot yer deer," he said rolling his eyes and pulling out some medicine for her cuts that hadn't quite healed yet, "It's too small yet."

She smacked his chest and he let out a small laugh as the corners of her mouth tried not to pull up into a smile. She took the ointment from him and put it on where she could reach before handing it back to him to get the spots she couldn't get. As she re-wrapped the spots she had cleaned Daryl carefully applied the medicine while he tried his best not to focus on how smooth and soft her skin felt under his work roughened fingers.

"Turn," he said and she turned her back to him. She was trying to focus on what she was doing so that she wouldn't get distracted by his hands on her skin. "Hold still," Daryl said from behind her and she almost jumped out of her skin when his hands landed on her hip. "Sorry," he said quickly and let go of her. When his fingers started working the cream up the back of her thigh her eyes fluttered shut for a second as his warm fingers lit her skin on fire.

That particular cut ran very close to a certain area and neither of them realized that the other was holding their breath as Daryl's hand rubbed small circles around the area. He was moving slowly so that his hand wouldn't travel in a different direction and he hated to admit that touching her like this was turning him on.

He knew that it wasn't just the fact that he liked her. He hadn't been with a lot of girls before the outbreak and he hadn't been with anyone since and after being out in the open so long he hadn't even taken care of himself to the point where he had actually lost any urges for it. But now it seemed that all those urges were coming back at one time and he didn't know what to make of it. He didn't want to scare her, and after what she had been through, he wouldn't be surprised if she never let a man near her like that again. Not that she would want to be with him anyway. That last thought upset him and that was when he realized he was still rubbing her thigh.

Girl had stood there and enjoyed the feeling of his hands again her. He never touched her like this, no one did, and to be honest with herself, she missed it. She wasn't sure that she would be able to handle anyone else touching her like this. But this was Daryl. Her Daryl. He had saved her and she knew he would never do anything to hurt her, but she still couldn't bring herself to do anything. She didn't want to lose this friendship, this trust. So she just stood there and enjoyed the feeling of his hands on her skin and she actually lost track of the time.

When Daryl realized he had still been touching her he pulled his hand away and quickly grabbed up the bandages. Girl sighed and then continued to finish wrapping the last of her injuries. "Done," Daryl said standing up and handing Girl her clothes, "Here." Girl turned around with a blush on her face and Daryl turned so she could get dressed thinking that she was starting to get embarrassed with her lack of clothes.

However, Girl fumbled with her clothes as she tried to cool down her face. She hadn't realized how flushed she had gotten while he had been touching her until she had turned to face him. Now she couldn't seem to get her fingers to stop trembling to button up her jeans and put her boots on.

When she was finished she took a deep breath and then walked up to Daryl's side and nudged him with her arm. "Ready?" he asked and she nodded with a sigh partially because she was sad they were leaving this amazing place and partially because they were back down to using only one word conversations. Daryl pulled his pack on and handed her the other pack before walking on through the forest.

Right before the woods completely engulfed the area she turned one last time to watch it disappear from view and felt saddened that they couldn't just stay there a while longer. "We'll go back," he said without turning around to see her and she wondered how he knew what she had been thinking, but a smile still spread on her face.

As they walked through the forest Daryl couldn't get over how quiet she was as she followed him. If he didn't know better he would have thought that she had gotten lost. But if he listened closely enough he could make out her breathing and every now and then he could hear a leaf crunch under her shoes. Regardless, he still turned around to check on her and to make sure nothing was coming up behind them. Now, as he stood a few feet a head of her, he turned to watch her. She wasn't breathing hard which made him think that she was use to the physical activity and he let his mind wonder about who she was before.

They had found tracks of a larger deer and they were currently tracking it through the woods, but Daryl knew they weren't going to catch up with it tonight. "Hey," he said when she got closer to him, "Ya gonna be ok stayin out here tonight with me? We ain't gonna catch up to it any time soon."

Girl's smile faltered a little bit as she looked around the woods. "I ain't gonna let nothin' hurt ya. Just don't wanta spend all that time takin ya back tonight," he said leaving out that he didn't want to leave her there by herself. She looked back to him and nodded once. "Alright," he said continuing walking, "Once the sun starts to set we'll set up camp." Girl followed behind him silently.

**(A/N – So here's another one! Surprise! Haha I hope you enjoy it! SPECAIL thanks to: **

**Danathakettu – Thanks! I'm very lucky to have him in my life. I hope you like this chapter just as much as you've like the others! And I think that you're going to love the upcoming chapters…!**

**Guest – I know, but neither do Chupacabras or Walkers! Haha! But in my story it is. I hope you enjoyed it though.**

**Corina27 – Oh yea, I can't see him ever dealing with something like this calmly. But I think he is able to hand things like this better than he could have before. So I think he did good! **

**Thank you for all the followes and favorites that I'm getting! Keep it up and let me hear those reviews!)**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

Girl kept up with Daryl as they continued through the forest as they followed the trail. She never let on how much pain she was in. Not only was she stretching and opening some wounds that weren't quite healed, but the sweat that dripped into them stung. Whenever Daryl would turn back to check on her she always smiled the best she could, but she stayed far enough back so that if her smile wasn't good enough, hopefully he wouldn't be able to tell.

Daryl turned back to check on Girl after he made it over a fallen log. She smiled at him like she had been doing for the last few hours and Daryl couldn't figure out why she didn't stay up with him. She was never far enough away that if something happened he wouldn't be able to get to her, but he knew she could stay up with him if she wanted to, but she was purposely keeping distance between them. His mind kept racing wondering what he could have done to make her want to stay away from him. Had he touched her when he shouldn't have? Did he let on what he really thought about her? Did she see him for the dirty angry red neck that he was? That angered him. The world as they knew it was over, she was no better than him.

He waited for her to get over the log before he turned again and started walking away. He hadn't taken more than a few steps when he heard a soft thud. He turned to see Girl pulling herself up with the help of the fallen tree. Daryl hurried back to her side and helped her to sit on the log. "What happened?" he asked knowing full well she wasn't going to respond to him.

She looked up at him and shook her head. In that moment he could see the pain in her eyes and he felt like an idiot. How hadn't he thought about her injuries and how she was feeling? "Why didn't ya stop me?" he asked looking over her body where he knew her worse injuries were. He could see small blood spots and he knew that she had ripped open at least two of them. "Ya shoulda let me know," he said angrily before turning his back to her and removing his pack, "Climb on."

Girl looked at him with one eye brow raised as she tried to catch her breath. Her chest burned and her legs felt like she had been walking up hill all day. "Come on," Daryl said when he saw the look she was giving him, "Ain't got all day."

With a huff of air that Daryl assumed was a small laugh, he felt her arms wrap around his neck as her legs held tightly to his hips. He wrapped his hands around her thighs, careful to not hurt her, and started walking. "Gonna find somewhere safe ta stay tonight," he said to her as he carried her through the trees.

The sun was starting to set and Daryl knew they were close to where he wanted to go, and while Girl wasn't heavy, he was getting tired. Girl gave up trying to figure out where they were going and started to relax against Daryl. She knew that he was getting tired, but she loved this closeness to him. Eventually, she leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes as she breathed in the smell of him. She felt safe with this man and she never wanted to let go of him. She knew that she was feeling attracted to him, but she didn't want to ruin what she had. Not that she thought a man like him would even want a girl like her after she had been used the way she had. She was damaged goods and she knew that. When she felt herself starting to tear up she turned her face into his shoulder and tried to drown out her sorrows with his smell.

Daryl felt her move her head against his shoulder twice, and each time he had almost tripped when her lips pressed against his back. He swore she even sniffed him and he wondered how bad he smelled. They had been walking in the sun all day and he was sure he didn't smell like flowers, but as a small gust of wind blew by him he knew that she didn't either. But if he was honest with himself, the smell didn't bother him. It actually turned him on a little that she smelled so natural and so much like the outdoors that he loved. Yea, the both smelled of sweat, but he didn't need a girl to be clean and perfect all the time, this was sometimes hotter than any perfume he had smelled.

"Almost here," he said more to himself as he tried to get his mind away from her. Having her pressed against him like this was making him fully aware of how soft her body was and how well it curved to his. With her against him like this, it was making him wonder how well her body would curve around his if she was under him. Or on top, he wasn't picky. He closed his eyes and shook his head as he walked further, he couldn't be thinking of her like this, if she knew she would never want to be alone with him again.

When Girl heard his voice she opened her eyes and started looking around. It was only then that she realized she had started falling asleep and she felt guilty. She felt Daryl shake his head and tighten his grip on her thighs and she wondered if he had realized she was falling asleep and he was upset with her for it. She couldn't help it though, she was exhausted and she almost didn't care if they slept in a tree tonight, as long as she got to lay down, she would be happy. She'd be happier if she was laying with him though, and she immediately banished the thought. No way Daryl would be ok with her cuddling him in her sleep. He just didn't seem the type.

"Here," Daryl said and she could feel him quicken his steps as a small cabin came into view. She moved against his back and Daryl's hands slid against her thighs making him fight back a groan. She leaned forward and her chest pressed firmly against his back making him almost drop her to put distance between them.

When she started squirming Daryl almost lost his mind. "Hold still 'fore I drop ya. I'm gonna put ya down inside," he said with a growl. She stilled instantly and wanted to apologize, but couldn't find it in her.

Daryl opened the door and set her down before he went off and checked the house to make sure that no one else had found it. When he came back Girl was still standing in the door where he had left her. "Come on and sit down," Daryl said as he gestured to the arm chair. When she moved he locked the door and lit a lantern that he kept in there.

"Found this place with one of the people from the prison when we were out scoutin'," Daryl explained as he shut the blinds and lit one more lantern, "The guy was makin' moonshine." Girl's eyes followed Daryl around the cabin as he moved and when he came back to her with a jar she smiled up at him and took it. Daryl watched with a small smile on his lips as she took a drink and crinkled her nose. He was surprised when she took another drink and then handed it back to him. He sat down across from her and she smiled as she licked her lips and waited for him to take drink. It wasn't the best she had ever had, but she was happy with finding any at this point in time.

Daryl took a drink and studied her as she watched him. "Ya know we gotta fix up yer legs again right?" he said before handing her back the glass. Her smiled fell away and she nodded her head before taking another drink. "Easy Girl," Daryl said taking the glass back from her, "Don't know what yer use ta, but this stuff'll knock ya on yer ass if ya ain't careful."

She smiled and rolled her eyes and Daryl chuckled. "Alright," he said before taking another drink, "One more then we're gettin' ready fer bed. Gotta get up early if we're gonna catch up to that deer."

Girl nodded and took a small drink as Daryl stood and grabbed everything they were going to need. "Best be careful tomorrow," he said digging through everything, "Ain't got a lot left."

Girl nodded and stood up before she started undoing her pants. Even with all of the liquid courage she had, her fingers still trembled as she tried to get undressed in front of Daryl. She had thought that after baring all to him today that she would be able to do this no problem, but she still wasn't strong enough for that and she hated herself for it.

Daryl was still pulling everything out when he heard Girl sniff. Turning around expecting something to be wrong, he saw her standing behind him with one hand holding her pants and the other trying to pull down the zipper. "Hey," he said standing up and walking over to her. She looked up at him and it killed him to see her holding back her tears. "Ya ain't got nothin' ta worry about," he said but she looked away from him, "Come 'ere." Girl dropped her hands and looked up to Daryl. He moved closer to her and his hand found the back of her neck and he pulled her head to his. They stood there looking into each other's eyes for a moment, forehead to forehead before Daryl spoke. "Yer beautiful Girl," he said, the drinks he had making him braver, "Ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout."

She looked deep into his eyes and knew in that moment that he was telling her the truth. He really did think she was beautiful, even with all of her cuts and bruises. Even after finding her the way he had, and then finding that she had hurt herself, he still saw the person she was under the healing marks. Her hand moved to the side of his face and she ran her fingers over the stubble there like she had the day she had woken up before she nodded her head and Daryl let her pull away. He took off his shirt and waited for her to left hers off over her head leaving her in her bra and jeans.

Throwing her shirt to the chair Daryl helped her slip on his shirt so that she was covered. She turned her back for a moment and slid off her bra before buttoning his shirt up to cover her chest. Daryl was bent down on one knee when she turned around and she almost gasped as he gently helped her to remove her boots. She had never seen him be this caring with anyone, and it made her heart ache. Slipping her foot from her boot Daryl stood up and she slid down her pants as he took another drink. When she kicked them off he handed her the glass and she took a drink as well, thankful that the alcohol was helping her to stay calm, but knowing it was really Daryl who was having this effect on her.

When she handed the drink back to Daryl he set it down and got to work fixing up her bandages. She never moved as he worked on finishing them, and she just watched him. His hands that felt so rough against her skin brushed against each spot with so much care that it seemed he was trying to rub the pain and memories away as he covered them. When he got to the one she had done to herself he looked up at her for a moment before running his hands around the bright red edges. He was so close to her skin that for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he reached down and put more medicine on his hands before smoothing his fingers carefully over her.

She actually sighed when he pulled his hand away and Daryl fought back a smile. He stood back up and said, "Done," and then he started packing everything up. Girl closed her eyes and mentally slapped herself on the forehead for thinking anything other than he was just trying to help her, and then she curled back onto the couch and tugged his shirt down over her thighs as she rested her head on her knees and watched him.

Daryl busied himself with packing everything up because he needed to get his mind off of her. He didn't even know her name and he was already fantasizing about her like a teenage boy. He was just hoping she hadn't seen the evidence of how much he enjoyed touching her, but it had seemed that she had enjoyed him touching her as well. He shook his head knowing that it must have been in his head because it hadn't even been a week since the attack, and there was no way she could even be thinking about anything with him like that.

As Girl watched him mess around with different things in his pack, she started to wonder if he was avoiding her. Had she made things uncomfortable between them earlier? She hoped not. She did enjoy being with Daryl, and she did find him attractive, but she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. There was just no way she was going to be comfortable with any man after what happened to her, and while she had thought about Daryl touching her, she couldn't see herself being ok with being under him. Just the thought of that right now was enough to make her heart speed up. She took a few calming breaths and wondered if she would ever be ready for a relationship like that. She couldn't even let anyone touch her without her wanting to hurt them. Beth and Hershel were different, and she knew that because Hershel was a doctor, and Beth couldn't harm anyone. But the moment anyone else tried to touch her, she found herself moving for a weapon.

Except for Daryl. With that thought she wondered if things would really be different if she was with him, but she hadn't even talked to him yet. He didn't even know her name or who she was. How could she expect things to be ok with Daryl if he didn't even know her name?

She thought about that for a little while longer then started thinking about a better time. She started thinking about when they were at their stream and when they had seen the deer and when they had relaxed, and she smiled. She watched Daryl move around as she remembered their day, and slowly her eyes started to drift shut.

**(A/N – So I'm still not sure what's going on with me and I'm debating about going to the doctor, but I'm kind of terrified and I don't know what to do. Sooo I'm writing more to keep my mind off of it! Not a permanent solution… but it works for now. So if I don't update for a little while after this I apologize now. Anyway I hope that you enjoyed this and you don't get too frustrated with these two not just telling each other how they feel! But I can't see either character coming out and saying it, even if she was talking, so you'll just have to be patient. Special thanks to:**

**Danathakettu – So this next chapter is the one that I've been looking forward too and 17 will be the one that I was saying that you're going to like! I'm so happy that you're keeping up with the story! I look forward to seeing your reviews! But you're gonna make me blush! I hope to publish some of my work one day!**

**Kaybal3**

**Lady-Finwe – I'm glad to hear it! **

**Corina27 – Good to hear from you again and don't worry their night is just beginning! **

**Thanks again and I hope to hear some more lovely reviews!)**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

"Girl," Daryl's voice called out to her in the darkness, "Girl wake up."

Sitting back up and rubbing her hands over her eyes Daryl swore it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. "Come on," he said softer as her big purple eyes blinked up at him as she started to remember where she was. "Ya fell asleep in the chair," he said holding his hand out to her, "Come on there's a bed over here."

Girl sniffed and shook her head, she was too tired to move. "Come on," Daryl said with a small chuckle. Girl huffed and took his hand letting him pull her up. She limped a little because her leg had fallen asleep from sitting the way she had and Daryl walked slower so that she could hold onto his arm.

"Here ya go," he said and he stopped in the door way and she kept walking to the bed. Daryl groaned quietly when he saw that his shirt that she was wearing was caught around her hip showing her firm ass as she walked away from him. He watched her ass for longer than he cared to admit and when she got to the bed Daryl swore. She had fallen face first onto the bed and fell asleep leaving her limbs spilled out over the bed, one leg on and one leg hanging off onto the floor and the shirt had ridden up to her mid back. Daryl watched her for a moment as she took a deep breath and rolled to her side. Her stomach showed now and she was displaying most of the parts Daryl had been day dreaming about.

Cursing again and thinking he was a pervert, he walked over and helped her to get under the covers. She sighed as he pulled the blankets up to her chin and he froze thinking she had woken up. When she continued breathing Daryl moved away from her quickly and partially shut the door before he moved back out to the arm chair. He slipped off his shirt and got comfortable in the chair, leaving his jeans and boots on incase he needed to get up fast. He let his eyes drift shut as he tried to think about anything other than Girl. Unfortunately the moment he slipped into sleep, he dreamt of her.

She was back in the woods and the men were holding her down as they took turns using her. She tried to scream, but her voice was gone. She couldn't move. The man on top of her bit into her breast making her cry as she felt him break the skin. They were all laughing and calling her names as she lay there helplessly. Where was Daryl? Why did he leave her out in the woods? He knew these men were out there somewhere and now they had found her again. Something in the trees moved and she turned her head praying it was Daryl. But then Bill walked out and smiled cruelly at her before moving to take his turn over her as he pressed a knife against her throat. She felt the sting of the blade and finally found her voice.

She screamed and jolted up in the bed to find herself in a room she had never seen. It was dark and she was having trouble seeing anything around her and she started panicking. When she struggled to get up she found that she couldn't move her arms and it was hard to move her legs. She screamed again and again before the door burst open and a large dark figure stood in the door way before rushing over to the bed. "Stop!" the voice called out for her but she was in too much of a panic to realize who the voice belonged to. "Hold still!" the voice said louder as the figure grabbed her. "Girl! Fucking stop movin! Yer all tangled up!" Daryl said and she froze.

"There," he said pulling the blankets from around her and placed them around her shoulders so that she could cocoon herself in them. Tears still fell from her eyes as Daryl sat on the bed in front of her and tried to tuck her hair back away from her face. "You're safe," he said cupping her cheek with his hand, "I'm here. Yer safe."

She looked around the room still groggy from sleep and the nightmare she had. "Ya don't remember walkin in here, do ya?" he asked following her eyes around the room, "Ya fell asleep in the chair, figured ya'd like the bed better." She nodded slowly before looking back to Daryl. He noticed her breathing had slowed down and she seemed calmer, but he knew whatever nightmare she had was still there in her mind and he didn't want to leave her, but he knew that he shouldn't stay with her either.

"Go back to sleep," Daryl said as he stood up. Small fingers wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back towards the bed. "No girl," he said trying to pull his hand away from her, but she wouldn't let go. He looked to her eyes and he could see that she was begging him.

"I can't," he said and sat down on the bed, "I ain't good for ya."

She shook her head to tell him no, she wanted him to stay with her.

"Believe me girl, ya don't want me," he said and moved her other hand to trace the small scars on top of his hand that she was holding. Slowly she continued to trace the scars up his arms and then took the time to trace his tattoos before she moved on. Daryl had closed her eyes at her light soft touch. When she moved her fingers to his chest his eyes opened and locked on hers again. "No," he said and stood up. Girl struggled to get out of bed, she couldn't be alone right now and she needed him to understand that.

"Stop," he said more firmly and put his hands on her shoulders to stop her. She shook his hands off and pressed herself against his chest, her cheek smashed on his peck as she squeezed her eyes closed and hoped he wouldn't push her away again. His hands fell to his side as he tried not to touch her. Slowly she looked up to him and her eyes screamed for him to stay. He sighed and she knew that he wasn't going to leave her just yet. "Fine," he said, "Get in." She nodded and held onto his hand as she climbed into the bed and pulled him in behind her, not giving him the chance to leave.

She hated feeling this needy, but she was out in the woods, not far from where she had been attacked and she didn't feel safe unless he was there. Daryl laid on his back, on top of the covers and girl laid on her side next to him. They weren't touching, but Daryl could feel her warm breath against his arm and he knew that he wouldn't have to reach far to touch her, and that thought alone was driving him crazy. Girl had pulled the blankets up around her and held some out for Daryl who just shook his head no and she sighed pulling them tighter around her.

They laid there for a long time before girl gave up trying to sleep and moved over and rested her head on Daryl's shoulder as she started to trace the small devil on the inside of his arm. She heard him sigh and knew that he wasn't sleeping either. She gently moved her fingers up and down his arm in random little patterns and she looked up to see that Daryl had closed his eyes and she smiled. Hopefully she would be able to get him to fall asleep.

No more than a few moments later, she heard Daryl start to lightly snore and she knew that he was asleep. She listened to his breaths and closed her eyes letting that fact that Daryl was there and keeping her safe help her to sleep.

When Daryl woke up, he felt like he was out in the fields under the sun he was so hot. He opened his eyes and found that Girl was curled on her side, but she was also wrapped around him. Her leg was wedged between his legs and her head was on his chest, causing his arm to be pressed between her breasts. He went to move her away but her arm that was draped over his chest tightened making her breast rub against his arm and her leg pulled up rubbing across his hardening dick. "Fuck," he hissed when her leg rubbed against him again. If she woke up right now he had no doubt that she would think he was disgusting for getting hard just by lying next to her.

He tried to move so that she wouldn't wake up, and this time he got his arm out from between them, but she just moved closer to her side and he was stuck again. She moaned a little in her sleep and Daryl knew he was going to have to take care of himself later just so he wouldn't be permanently hard. "Roll over," he tried whispering in her ear, but she just snuggled against him more.

It wasn't that he didn't like it, he just like it too much and he didn't want her to hate him. "Come on," he said and tried to pull away from her again. He didn't want to wake her up, but he had to get away. The shirt that he had let her use was dangerously close to showing her chest and the rest of her that wasn't covered by anything was just far too tempting for him.

When she started to squirm he panicked and brought his arm up to hold her to his side while his other hand started to gently rub her leg. It didn't take long for her to be completely still again and, while he hated that he had to, he pulled himself away from her quickly. Too quickly. The moment his feet hit the floor she was sitting back up and started reaching for him, her eyes hardly opened. He turned his back to her to try to calm himself down before she saw the evidence of his arousal.

When her hand touched his arm he turned to look at her. Her lips were parted slightly and she was kneeling on the bed, leaning forward slightly so that she could reach him and he had to look away to keep himself from attacking her.

Daryl sighed and started to walk away but she held on to him tighter and he stilled. "We need to sleep," his voice came out huskier than he thought it would.

She tugged him back to the bed and he prayed it was dark enough that she couldn't see anything that would scare her. He sat down on the edge of the bed and she sat behind him resting her head on his shoulder. It amazed her that she could be so intimate with Daryl, but she didn't question it because this was something that she needed. This was one of the few things that still made her feel like a human. Yes, he was still a man, but he was also her savior and she needed him.

She moved her head away from him and trailed her hands up his back before settling them on his shoulders and started rubbing them. Daryl had to fight back a moan as she worked at his shoulders. No one ever gave him a massage, and her hands felt amazing on his skin. "Girl," he growled when she hit a particularly large knot in his back. Without thinking, she leaned down and kissed the spot where she had pressed to hard. Daryl's back shot up straight and she sat back thinking she had upset him. When he didn't move to stop her, she gently put her hands back to work on his skin.

Eventually she was having trouble keeping her eyes open and she grabbed his arm to turn him around. This time he didn't fight her and when she curled onto her side with her back to Daryl, he didn't hesitate and curled up around her and a small groan slipped from his mouth when she wiggled back against him.

His fingers started to ghost over her bare flesh and when she sighed he pulled away and climbed off the bed. She started to reach out for him but he pulled away from her. "No Girl," he said and started walking to the door, "I can't. Ya don't know what yer askin."

Girl started to panic when he kept walking away from her. She didn't want to leave. She felt safe and she didn't want to lose that. She crawled to the edge of the bed and when her foot touched the floor Daryl stormed back to her and grabbed her by her upper arms making her eyes go wide. "I can't sleep in here with ya," he said, "Ya keep lookin at me like I'm yer savior. But I'm still a man Girl. And yer drivin me crazy. I ain't gonna touch ya like that, but I won't be able ta stop myself if yer like this around me."

Girl stared up at him with confusion in her eyes. She hadn't even thought that Daryl had really looked at her like that, and she knew she wasn't ready to do anything that he would want from her. She just stood there, not knowing what to do. "For fucks sake," he kept going, "I don't even know yer name. I ain't sayin I'm not gonna keep ya safe but..."

"Aurora," Girl said looking away from him.

"What?" Daryl asked. He hadn't been expecting her to say anything and he didn't know what else to say.

"My name," she said looking up to him, "Aurora. Rory."

**(A/N – I just can't stop writing lately! I'm really getting into the story and I just get so excited to put the chapters up and to get the reviews! I think this is the fourth chapter I've put up this week? Yay! I hope that you guys are enjoying them! On another note, I took down one of my stories and I'm rewriting it and putting it back up, so once I do that I hope you pop over to read that one as well! Anywho! Special thanks to: **

**Kaybal3 – Haha I know I can just see it happening like this because I feel like Daryl would NEVER act on his feelings because he is way too hard on himself.**

**Danathakettu - *blushes* Thankssss! Rory use to be a very physical person (in the way where she hugged everyone and loved to be close to people) and while she is having trouble getting back to that person she can still feel comfortable around Daryl (especially with a little moon shine ;)!) I hope you liked this chapter as much as I enjoyed it!**

**Katarzyna88gb – Thank you so much! I'm glad that you like it!**

**Keep letting my know what you think!)**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

Daryl was laying on his back in the bed with Girl's head on his chest. _'Aurora,'_ he thought to himself as he laid there. She hadn't said anything after her name, she didn't need too. When she had said her name it had stunned Daryl and he hadn't known what to do until she started to reach out for him with shaking hands. He loved that he was the only one she ever showed her weak side too, but he hated that he never really knew what to do. But when she had reached out for him, she had looked so small. So innocent, almost childlike. And he went straight to her.

Her voice had been so quite that at first he had thought he had imagined it. And when she said it again, he couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips. Her voice sounded amazing to him. Almost as if she had sung her name. But now that he knew her name, he wanted, more than anything, to hear his name roll off her tongue.

He knew that she knew his name, everyone had said it enough around her, and he had repeated his name to her several times by now. It bothered him how much he wanted to hear her say it. But he wasn't going to push. Just hearing her voice was enough for him for now.

But right now, he couldn't fall asleep. He had settled into bed with her, not wanting to leave her like she was. And seeing that look in her eyes made him think back to when he had found her, and he no longer had to fight off the urges he had earlier. He was actually enjoying her wrapped around him this time, and when she started a soft snore he thought he had never heard anything cuter. He held her to him, brushing his fingers up and down her arm as she laid there with him.

Had had fallen asleep for a few hours, but that was it. And now he could hear birds starting to sing outside of the cabin and he could see light coming in under the door from the sun rising. It was going to be another long day, and all he could think about was if she was going to continue talking to him today. And for the first time in a long time, he prayed that he would.

Rory woke up to chirping birds, but she didn't open her eyes just yet. It was starting to get warm in the room, and Daryl's body heat was starting to make her sweat. But she didn't want to pull away just yet. He knew her name now and she wondered if he was going to push her to continue to talk to him. she wasn't really ready to have actual conversations, and she didn't want to offend Daryl, but she just didn't have it in her to talk. "Ya ready ta get up?" Daryl asked.

She let out a sigh and looked up at him with a smile. Daryl's breath caught in his throat when she looked up at him like that. He had heard her change in breathing and knew that she had woken up, but he hadn't expected her to look up at him with such a beautiful smile and those wide violet eyes sparkling up at him, still hazy with sleep. She shook her head no.

"Come on," he said not wanting to move, but knew they had too, "It's gonna get hot soon and we need to catch up to that deer. Ain't gotta enough food to last us another day less I start huntin fer smaller game."

She nodded her head and sat up in bed. She crossed her legs and pulled down Daryl's shirt so that it covered her body better before linking her hands together and stretching them above her head. Her shoulders popped and then her back popped as she twisted side to side. Daryl watched her with one eye brow raised and an amused expression on his face.

She relaxed her arms back down and looked at him with an arched eye brow and Daryl was disappointed that she wasn't talking to him. "Ya sound like yer gonna fall apart," he said before turning and getting out of bed.

"It feels good," she said softly and Daryl breathed out heavily when he heard her voice again.

"Don't sound like it does," Daryl said trying to sound normal, "Hurry up n get dressed." And then he walked out of the room leaving her sitting on the bed.

Rory sat there for another moment before standing up and stretching out everything else. She hadn't had a sleep that great for a long time and she hoped that it would be ok for her to ask Daryl to continue to sleep with her every now and then. She blushed at the thought of asking him and wished that she could have more moonshine whenever the occasion came up.

Looking around the room one last time Rory tugged down at the shirt and walked out into the front room. Daryl was already setting out the last of their food so that they could eat before they started the day. She walked quickly to her things and pulled on her clothes from yesterday. Daryl turned around just as she finished and watched her straighten her top before she threw his shirt back to him. She wasn't talking to him yet, but he figured she wouldn't. He knew she wouldn't go from not saying a word to talking nonstop, but he was still disappointed.

"Come eat," he said and she nodded before walking over to him and sitting down. She waited for him to pick up his half of the food before she started eating, and she was happy that he had told her not to eat everything yesterday. There wasn't a lot of food, but it would get them by until they were back or until Daryl had to hunt them something. Daryl didn't say anything while they ate, and neither did she, but she wasn't looking at him. She had stopped eating half way through her food and was just staring down at the floor. Daryl took a bite of food and thought about asking her what was going through her head when she started to talk.

"I don't want to go back to the prison," she said without looking up at him. Daryl choked on his food and it took him a minute to talk.

"Ya got somewhere better to be?" he asked almost in a growl.

"It's not that," she said and still refused to look at him, "I don't want to talk to talk to them."

Daryl wasn't expecting that and he had to think for another minute before responding. He moved over to her and his hand went to the back of her neck pulling her forehead against his. "Ya don't have ta talk ta anyone. I'm the only one that has ta know yer talkin. Ya ain't gotta talk ta anyone ya don't want ta. Ok?" he said never looking away from her eyes. She loved it when he did this, it helped her to focus her thoughts on him and what was happening in the moment.

Looking into his eyes she knew that he was telling the truth. He wouldn't tell anyone she had talked to him, and he didn't expect her to talk when it wasn't necessary.

"But ya gotta promise me yer not talkin' cause yer scared," he said still not letting go, "Yer safe with me. Ain't gonna let nothin happen to ya."

She nodded.

"Say it," he said holding a little tighter, "Say yer safe."

"I'm safe," she said softly.

"Again."

"I am safe," she said and let out a breath that she hadn't known she had been holding. She was safe. She knew that. But that didn't mean that she hadn't been thinking of the men that were still out there. That were still alive. But now she knew that Daryl would do anything he could to protect her. In s strange way, she was his.

Daryl lifted his forehead off of hers and brought his lips to the crown of her head before hissing her there. He stayed there for a moment before pulling away and standing up. "Come on," he said holding out his hand to help her up, "We're leavin." She nodded before quickly finishing his food and helping him pack up before leaving.

The sun was high in the sky and Rory had rolled her jeans up to her knees, much to Daryl's protest. He had complained that nothing was protecting her legs and she was going to get hurt, but she was too hot to care. She had tied her hair up and was considering tying up her shirt to expose her stomach to the far too rare cool breeze. She had no clue how Daryl wasn't dying with his heavy jeans, wife beater, and shirt on, not counting his heavy boots and his thick matted down hair.

Daryl held a hand up to her and she immediately went on the defense, knife already drawn as she crouched down low. He turned and shook his head before pointing a little ahead of them to see a big buck with his head down. Rory relaxed and watched Daryl carefully as he pulled out his arrow and readied his bow. Rory never took her eyes off of him as he readied himself and moved low to the ground careful not to make a noise. Then, before she even blink, the arrow flew into the deer's chest sinking deep into it's heart. It attempted to run, but it fell to the ground with a thud and Daryl was standing up to hurry to the deer.

Rory followed him to the deer and watched as Daryl went to work gutting the deer. Rory watched with fascination as Daryl worked. She had never seen anything like it before.

Daryl continued to work, not talking or even thinking about anything other than how he was going to get all the meat back before it spoiled. In reality they could probably make it back to the prison by morning, but he didn't want her walking around at night while she was still injured and with all of the meat slowing them down.

Rory walked around, enjoying the woods because she knew that now that they had found the deer they would be heading back and she would be trapped behind the prison walls again. She knew she wasn't really trapped there, she could leave if she really wanted to. But even with how big the prison was, it felt small. She didn't want to even think about if Bill was going to be there or what was going to happen with that when she got back. She did wonder, however, when Daryl and her were going to be able to get back out to their spot in the woods. She wanted to spend the rest of the day there, but she doubted they would be able to.

Daryl was still working over the deer when she made her way back to him. She didn't say anything to him, just sat down a foot or so behind him so that she could watch what he was doing.

Daryl knew that she was there, he knew that she was watching him. But he didn't know why. He thought that this would gross her out and she wouldn't want to be anywhere near him while he did this, but there she was. She was so close that if he reached back he could touch her, and it was a little distracting. "Whatcha doin girl?" he said calling her girl out of habit and then corrected himself, "Aurora."

"Rory," she said softly.

"Hn," he said not taking his eyes off the deer. He loved how her name felt on his tongue and he didn't really want to call her by a nickname.

"Teach me," she said more than asked and Daryl's hands hesitated.

"What?" he said already knowing what she wanted but not believing her.

"Teach me how," she said more firmly.

**(A/N – So I hope that you're liking Rory so far and you don't think I'm moving her along to fast. She will be developing more and a little faster as a character, meaning you'll get more of her back story now, but she won't be growing as quickly with the other characters. Special thanks to:**

**Danathakettu – Haha it will still be a little while but we will get there eventually! I promise!**

**xAmandaxXxPandax – Thank you!**

**Corina27 – Thank you! I love the name and I think it works out for her. And I can't see Daryl being anything but awkward in this kind of a situation. I hope that you keep reading!**

**Guest – Thank you! Daryl doesn't hit me like the kind of guy that has to much experience with women like this.**

**Katarzyna88gb**

** .1884**

**Sammie94 **

**Thank you so much for your love! Let me know what you think! Really it helps me with the story!)**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

"Hell no," Daryl said as he finished the last bit of the deer.

"Why?" Rory asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Cause I said no," he said standing up and looking over at her. She was leaning against the tree staring at him with a look that would terrify anyone else.

"That's not a reason," she said curtly.

"S' reason enough," he said and walked past her. She reached out and grabbed onto his arm stopping him. "Please," she said looking at him a little softer.

"Why ya want ta learn?" he asked her as she dropped her hand from him and he started to miss the contact.

"Because I need to," she said and Daryl understood. She had gotten by so far, but he knew that there was a lot she didn't know, and even though he didn't want to think about her having to defend for herself again, he knew that it could happen and it wouldn't' be bad for her to learn.

"Fine," Daryl said walking away from her. She smiled and turned and followed after him happy that he was finally thinking that she could handle herself.

Daryl stopped to look up at the sky and Rory almost ran into the back of him. "What?" she asked looking around already on the defense. "Calm down," he said trying to hide the smirk on his face, "I don't think we're gonna make it back tonight."

Rory straightened up and relaxed and while Daryl was proud that she was ready to fight for her life at a moment's notice, he wanted her to feel safer around him. "Ya wanted to learn," he said walking over to her, "It's time."

She was kneeling on the ground and Daryl was on one knee behind her. She was holding his bow the way he had shown her when he had shot the squirrel earlier. Now she was taking aim at a larger rabbit as it chewed and looked around nervously. Daryl reached his arms around her to steady the bow like he had shown her, but she didn't need much of an adjustment. "Good," he whispered, his breathing tickling her face and she was a little nervous because of it. "Now aim," he said quietly, "Now."

And squeezing the trigger her eyes hardly followed the arrow as it flew and sunk deep into the rabbit, killing it instantly. The force from the arrow leaving the bow nocked her off balance and she fell back slightly into Daryl's chest. She stiffened up and Daryl felt it immediately. He didn't move and he made sure she didn't reach for her knife. "It's me," he said as he held still.

She nodded but he knew she was locked into her mind thinking about the last time that a man and held her the way there were right now. "Yer safe," he said trying to calm her down, "Say it."

"I'm safe."

"Again," he said putting a little space between them.

"I'm safe," she said and stood up slowly before turning to him and handing the bow back to him, "What's next?"

Daryl watched her before he stood back up and she walked over to the rabbit without saying another word to him. He didn't know why everything was so different all of a sudden.

Girl kneeled down next to the rabbit and pulled out the knife Daryl had given her. She cut into the flesh without even blinking. He stood next to her and watched, impressed. He had explained the process to her once, and then showed her once, and now she was doing it almost flawlessly. "I can't believe ya ain't never done this 'fore," he said as he pulled out a wrinkled cigarette and lit it.

She glanced up at him from over her shoulder before returning to her work. When she was finished she stood and handed everything to Daryl before she turned her back to him so that he could put the bagged rabbit into her pack for later. When he zipped up her pack she turned around to face him. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and held it between his fingers as she faced him. "Never," she said with a proud smile on her lips before she reached and grabbed his wrist. She lifted his hand with the cigarette in it to her lips and took a long draw before letting his hand drop.

Daryl hadn't dared to move when her lips brushed against his fingers. His breathing stopped and his chest tightened as he imagined her lips on more than just his fingers. Her lip still had a healing cut on it from her attack, and that was the only part of her lips that weren't soft. That bit of roughness, for just that second, made the image of her when he had found her pop into his mind and all other thoughts vanished.

"Didn't know ya smoked," he said breathing normally and picking up his cigarette he took a deep breath before releasing it.

"Haven't had much of a chance to lately," Rory said taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

"Here," he said when she opened her eyes and looked at him, he was handing her one of his cigarettes.

"No," she said shaking her head and looking around the forest, "You can't have many left."

"'s fine," he said still holding it out to her and placing his between his lips he dug out his lighter.

"Fine," she said stepping back towards him, "But you have to do me a favor."

"Hn?" he huffed amazed that she was actually asking him for something.

"I want to go back to where you find me."

"The fuck? Why?"

"It's the only way I know how to get back to my things," Rory said not meeting his eyes.

"Ya sure?" he asked as she took the cigarette and she leaned forward so he could light it for her. She took a deep drag and then slowly exhaled before nodding. "Yes," Rory said looking him in the eyes.

"Alright," he said turning and walking away, "Let's go. It's on the way." Rory followed after him and neither talked as they finished their smokes.

They were about halfway to where Daryl found her when he insisted that they stop to eat. "I don't know if I can eat," she said as Daryl cooked the rabbit over the small fire.

"Ya need ta," he said not taking his eyes off of their food.

"Hmph," she sighed knowing that arguing with him would be pointless. She knew that she needed to eat, but knowing where they were going made her stomach turn and she was afraid she wasn't going to be able to keep it down.

"I ain't gonna let nothin happen ta ya," Daryl said without looking up, "Ya gotta believe that."

"I do," she said pulling her knees up to her chest, "Still."

They didn't say anything while Daryl finished cooking and when he was done, he handed her half and he ate half. She picked at her food and Daryl watched her from under his hair when he was sure she wasn't looking.

He knew that this was going to be hard for her, but it would also be good for her. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, and he wasn't worried about the men still being there. He had been all over the area and never found them. He even assumed that they were hunters because of how hard it was to keep up with their trail. "Hurry up," he said when he tossed the garbage into the fire to burn it, "Gotta get goin."

Rory nodded but didn't say anything as she hurried to eat the rest of her food knowing that the sooner she would finish, the sooner they could get this over with. She finished, even while her stomach turned, and tossed hers into the fire as well. They waited for everything to burn down before Daryl put out the fire and they continued on.

By the time they reached the small clearing where Daryl had found her, the sun was already setting. "Which way?" Daryl said keeping an eye out for any trouble.

Rory stood where she had been laying that day and she looked down at the ground. Glass from a broken beer bottle still scattered the ground and she thought she could still see where her blood had stained the ground. She shivered and her heart started beating faster. She closed her eyes and tried to even out her breath. When it seemed like she was going to have another panic attack, she felt Daryl's hand on the back of her neck and his forehead touched hers.

She opened her eyes and was met by his blue ones. Her breath stilled for a moment before slowing back down. "I ain't gonna let nothin happen to ya," he said not looking away from her, "Say it."

"I'm safe," she said still looking into his eyes, "You're not going to let anything happen to me."

"Good Girl," he said before letting her go, "Come on, which way."

She took a deep breath before turning in a circle once, "That way."

Daryl followed behind her far enough where they weren't right on top of each other, but close enough that he would be right there for her if she needed him. "How much farther," he asked when the sun was casting it's last few rays of light.

"Not too much," Rory said as she stepped carefully over a large tree root.

"We gotta find somewhere to stay, it's gettin too late to be out here," he said walking up next to her now. He had noticed that the last few minutes she had started limping, and she was moving more slowly than before. He wouldn't mind staying the night out in the woods, but he knew it would be hard on her, and he wanted her to be able to rest.

"We'll be there soon," she said stumbling and then picking back up as if nothing had happened, "Promise."

"Hnn," Daryl nodded as he kept in step with her, ready to catch her arm if he needed to.

"There," she said snapping Daryl out of his worrying thoughts. Daryl looked up and didn't see anything in the dark. "What are ya talkin about?"

"Hold on," she said as she moved to some trees that were slanting as the ground elevated to form a hill. She yanked on some of the shrubbery and sure enough it all fell away to show her truck. "How the fuck did ya get that in here?" Daryl asked looking at the large dark red Chevy truck.

"Luck," she said pulling away some of the left over leaves, "I doubt I'd be able to get it back out without help, but I went as far as the trees allowed me. Then I started running low on gas and attempted to hide it here thinking I would be back soon." Daryl watched her as she walked over to the front of her car, then counted ten steps before bending down and moving a rock, digging a second, then pulling out a set of keys.

"Thank god," she said moving back to the covered bed of the truck, "Come on." Daryl walked around the truck slowly and when he finally met her at the back she had opened the bed and was now crawling inside of it. "Take your shoes off," she said slipping hers off on the tail gate before climbing into the dark bed or the truck, "And come on in." Daryl let his eyes adjust to see inside before he moved. He could see sheets covering what looked like her supplies blocking the windows, and then several blankets and a few pillows in the middle.

Daryl slid his bow in before sitting on the tail gate and tugging off his shoes. He placed them next to hers and slid in. "Sorry it's a tight fit," she said moving to close half the door. She pulled it up and then looked back to Daryl, "I'm use to just me. We can leave the glass portion open if you want."

"Nah," he said tugging off his shirts, "It's gonna get to cold fer ya."

"Ok," Rory said before pulling the glass door shut and locking it before moving a sheet to cover that as well. When the bed was completely engulfed by the dark Daryl sat still for a moment not wanting to hit her before a light blinded him. "Shit," he said covering his eyes.

"Sorry," Rory said then aimed it back to the side of the truck, "Move over." Daryl shifted as Rory moved up next to him. She tugged down the blanket and Daryl saw that she had a foam pad for a bed and he was happy she wouldn't have to sleep on the ground.

Daryl was still looking around when he noticed she was watching him. "It's not a lot," she said taking off some of her clothes and then pulled some clean ones out of a box, "but it's been getting me by. Hand me your pack." When Daryl shifted to hand her his pack he ended up elbowing her in the shoulder.

"Sorry," he said as she took the pack and let out a small strained laugh.

"It's alright," she said putting it alone with hers in an empty space, "Told you it would be tight."

"Hnn," Daryl said before laying on his back with his arms behind his head. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she pulled on a zip up hoodie that looked four sizes too big for her, and a pair of black cloth shorts. When she was done she curled up next to him, without actually touching him, and covered herself up. "I'm sorry I don't have any clothes to offer you," she said as she handed up the flash light. Daryl switched it off and set it where he could reach it.

"It's alright," he said, "Don't wanta change." After that they sat in silence. Daryl knew she was probably feeling more comfortable in her car than she had at the prison, and wondered if this would change anything. They were silent for so long, that Daryl thought Rory was asleep, and that was why it startled him when she started talking.

"Thank you Daryl," she side quietly. Daryl almost groaned at the way his name rolled off of her tongue and over her soft lips. Daryl couldn't bring himself to talk. He was almost embarrassed at how much he enjoyed hearing his name coming from her, and even more so at how much he wanted her to say it again. So, instead of talking and letting his voice betray him he moved his arm out from under his and pulled her close to him so that she could lay her head on his chest. He swore he heard her sigh when she laid down with him, but he tried to ignore it.

It really did surprise her that he had opened up his arms to her, and she prayed that he hadn't heard her sigh when she laid on him. She hadn't meant for it to slip out, but he was so warm and comfortable, and she felt so safe. She couldn't help it. "Good night Daryl," she said softly. When he didn't respond, she figured he just fell asleep from the long day. But Daryl stayed awake that night for another hour or so just to make sure they, she, was safe.

**(A/N – So first I wanted to say sorry that I am late with this chapter, it was my birthday last week and I'm still trying to catch up on everything that I had put off, plus I started a new job and might have sprained my ankle… But anyway! Good times haha. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and school is almost over so I promise I'll make it up to you for this being late! Special thanks to:**

**Kaybal3**

**Corina27**

**xAmandaxXxPandax – Haha it's ok I got what you were trying to say. Thank you!**

**Danathakettu – Aurora is her full first name, Rory is her nickname. Sorry to confuse you! I hope it makes more sense! **

**AllieKat21 – I hope you had a good trip! Thank you so much!**

**As usual you guys are awesome and I can't wait to hear more of your reviews for this chapter! Thanks for sticking with me!)**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

"Wake up," Daryl's voice broke through her dream. Rory opened her eyes slowly and looked up to see Daryl leaning slightly over her. "We gotta get movin," he said and Rory yawned before stretching out her stiff limbs. She had been having a good dream and now she was waking up to this living nightmare. The only thing that was keeping her sane right now was Daryl. She didn't believe that she would still be here today if it wasn't for him.

Daryl watched her for a moment and struggled to keep his hand at his side instead of reaching out to push back the hair that had fallen into her face during the night. Instead of letting his body do as it wanted he started to move to the back of the truck to get out. "I'm gonna get some food ready, then we gotta get back," he said as Rory struggled to hand him his pack. He took it from her and jumped out after unlocking the door.

Daryl closed the door to give her some privacy to change and he waited and listened to make sure she was moving before he started getting ready to leave. He thought about taking her truck back to the prison and made a note to ask her where she was on gas.

Rory sat up in the back of the truck and stretched a little more until she heard several satisfying pops. The she slumped down against the inside of the truck and took a deep breath. She felt so happy to be back in a familiar surroundings, and she didn't want to give it up. She knew she didn't have much gas left, and she wasn't sure they would make it back to the prison, but she hoped that she and Daryl could find a way to make it work. She missed having her things.

After pulling out and putting on new clothes, Rory sat down and looked around. Sighing she started to leave when something caught her eye. A large beige book sat between two cardboard boxes and she hesitated for a moment before grabbing it. She crossed her legs and laid the book in her lap before opening it. Taking a deep breath, she turned the first page.

There was only one picture on this page, and seeing it made her feel as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Tears prickled her eyes, but she fought them back as she looked at the people in the picture. There were seven men and four women huddled around a fire in the summer time. Everyone was close, physically and emotionally. In the picture, they were all crammed together leaving no room for anything to get in, just like their friendships. Rory was squished in the middle in between a Hispanic boy who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders in a brotherly way, and on her other side a blonde boy with short hair who was holding her hand and purposely pushing her so she was squished. Behind her stood a shorter girl who had folded her arms on top of Rory's head and was smiling so wide you couldn't see her eyes. The other two girls were spaced out between the boys and the boys surrounded everyone, and you could tell that they were all doing something to antagonize the others. But the one thing they all had in common, they were all smiling some of the biggest smiles Rory had ever seen.

As she remembered that day and everything that happened, she couldn't help the tears that feel down her face. She hadn't even made it to the second page and she was already crying. She felt stupid and weak and was about to slam the book closed when Daryl opened up the door. "Hey what't takin ya," Daryl started but stopped the moment that he saw that she was crying, "What's wrong?"

Rory shook her head and tried to wipe away the tears, but it was no good, she couldn't stop. Daryl jumped up onto the tail gate and kicked off his shoes before moving over to her. "What ya lookin at?" he asked tilting the book back so that he could see the picture.

"My old life," Rory said and Daryl held back a shiver at how cold her voice had become.

"Ya look happy," he said looking closer. Rory turned the book so that he could see and Daryl noticed that the picture was at least ten years old. "I was," she said sadly, "We all were."

"These all yer friends?" Daryl asked struggling for something to say.

"More like family," she said tilting the book back so she could see before pointing to people in the picture, "That's Felix, he was like a big brother, Alex, my boyfriend at the time, Marielle, my best friend, Candy and Shay. Then there's Cody, Damon, Danny, T and Jake. We were each other's families. Not to say we didn't have good families, they were alright, but we all took care of each other. We loved each other. We were almost never apart. Even when we all grew older and had different lives, we all kept in touch. Then, this happened."

Daryl nodded as he watched her eyes grow sad again. He felt a strange pang in his stomach and he wished that he could make her happy again. "Wanta tell me what happened?" he asked after a second.

"I don't think I've ever told anyone what happened," she said taking the book back and looking at each smiling face.

"Ya don't have ta," Daryl said moving away a little bit.

"No," she said reaching out and placing her hand on his, "I want to tell you. We weren't all able to get together when everything started going to shit. Only a few of us. Me, Alex and his brother Jake, Felix, Mari, Shay, and Danny. When whatever this is started, we all gathered at the house Alex, Felix, Mari and I shared. We boarded up the windows and stocked up the best that we could and tried to wait put the start of it. The rest of them were supposed to meet us there when they were able to. They never did make it." Rory trailed off for a moment and Daryl slowly turned over his hand and she slipped her hand into his letting him give her strength.

"When we ran out of supplies we did our best to stay close to the house, going to the stores and house that were abandoned. But eventually we knew we had to move on. We did ok for a little while, I don't know how long we were out a moving around for. Every now and then we found a place we thought was safe, but we never had enough force to keep a place if another group came or a horde. And most of the time everywhere was pretty picked over, so we had to keep moving just to live. Maybe a month before winter hit, Felix Alex and I were out on a run when things went bad. We thought we had checked out the house and everything was clear, but when I was checking out one of the rooms, one of the dead snuck up on me. Felix shoved me out of the way, but the thing bit down on his arm before either of us could do anything."

"I killed the thing," Rory was tearing up again, "And Alex took off Felix's arm hoping that we had gotten it in time. But by the time we made it back to the camp, he had lost too much blood. We hardly had time to same good bye. After that, things were hard. That was the first big lost we had, and Felix had been the one that kept us all in a good mood. Even when things were bad. After we lost Felix, Alex and I started growing apart. I loved him, but I was almost afraid too, and I lost a brother. It was hard for me to move on from that. Mari was the next to go. She was a year younger than me and I treated her as if she was my daughter. That winter we ran low on food. We all did our best when she got sick, but there just wasn't enough. I actually stopped eating for a while just to get her to eat more, but it didn't help. She got worse and worse until one day she fell asleep and just never woke up. When winter was over we found out that Shay was carrying Danny's baby. Everything was going great until she went into labor."

Rory shivered and Daryl squeezed her hand and nodded at her. "The baby didn't make it. And then… something I will never forget happened. Shay started screaming a blood curdling scream that never seemed to end. And after what felt like hours, she stopped. She was dead, and just as we started to get ready to bury her, the baby crawled its way through her stomach."

"Fuck," Daryl cringed just picturing it.

"You're telling me," Rory said, "We were all too shocked that Danny hadn't noticed Shay had come back to life. She bit into him as the baby continued to eat at Shay. Jake was the one to put them down. Then it was just Alex Jake and me. We didn't really talk to each other, we hardly even cared to live. We hunted when we absolutely needed to, but I didn't care. But then we stumbled onto this group. There was about ten of them and even some children. They helped us get back on our feet. Things started getting better, Alex and I even rebuilt our relationship. Even when winter came around again, we were ok. We had enough food and supplies to last us."

"But when winter was over it was our turn to go on a run. When we came back we found a group of men putting down walkers at our camp. He introduced himself as the Governor and he told us about this safe haven that he had built. He invited us to come back, but Jake didn't feel right about it. Turns out he was right. When we turned down his offer and started walking away, the open fired on us. Jake got hit in the stomach, I got grazed on my side and Alex got hit on his thigh and grazed on the side of his head. We made it to my truck and got away from there as fast as we could. Jake didn't make it long, and I think that was the last straw for Alex. Him and his brother had always been close, and when Jake died, Alex just wasn't strong enough to get through his injuries. About a month later, he died too and I was left alone. In the beginning, I just stopped caring completely. Didn't hunt or go on runs. Just laid back here and waited to die."

"What changed?" Daryl asked when she hesitated.

"I found this book," she said patting the book in her lap, "I remembered the life we all had before, and I wasn't ok with all those memories and all these people fading away into history. I wanted to live to make sure they lived on. That kicked my ass into gear and I started looking for a safe place to live. I was on my own for a little over two months I think, that was when you found me."

"Shit," Daryl said running his free hand through his hair. She hadn't had it easy, and Daryl didn't know what to do. He knew that his past hadn't been that great either, but he still had friends that were alive in the start of the outbreak. They were more than friends now though, they were his family. He knew what it was like to lose family and he couldn't begin to think where he would be if he had lost everyone.

"I know," Rory said and patted his knee, "But then you found me, and things are starting to look up again. Hopefully this time they won't crash back down."

"Ain't gonna let it," Daryl said and Rory smiled.

"At least now if something does happen to me, you know part of our story too and they'll live on," Rory said with a sad smile.

"Ain't nothing gonna happen ta ya," Daryl said tugging her hand toward him and pulling her against his chest. Rory hadn't realized that she hadn't stopped crying yet. She wrapped her arms around him and he held her as she sobbed against him. Daryl felt awkward, but he knew she needed this. She needed him to be there for her, and for once it was clear to him what to do.

When Rory was done crying she took a hiccupping breath and pulled away from him. "Thank you Daryl," Rory said and Daryl gave her a small nod and an even small smile at the sound of his name. They pulled away from each other and she gave him another small smile, and with that Daryl new she was done talking for a while. He was really surprised that she had talked as much as she did, but then again she had been silent for a long time.

Daryl climbed out of the truck as Rory continued to get ready. Daryl leaned against the side of the trick and lit a cigarette and took a long breath. Everything Rory had just told him was finally hitting him and the way it was making him feel bothered him. He had never really felt this way before, it almost felt like he had eaten something bad and then bugs where trying to get out. Moths. That's what felt like, like moths were stuck in his stomach. He almost wanted to vomit to get the feeling to stop. He didn't know how she did it to him, but all he wanted to do was make her pain go away.

He couldn't begin to imagine everything she had told him. He shivered once and took another long drag from his cigarette and tried to forget the way he was feeling just as she stepped out of her truck. "Ready?" he asked taking another puff. She nodded at him before looking up at him. "Can we try to get my truck there?"

"That's what I was plannin," Daryl said finishing off the cigarette and stubbing it out on the ground, "How much gas ya got left?"

"Not much," she said walking to the driver side door and opening it and letting Daryl look.

"If we're good we might make it pretty close. Might have ta walk bout a mile or so," Daryl said holding his hand out, "We can grab more gas at the prison and we'll get your truck back there."

"Ok," Rory nodded and hesitated before handing over the keys and walking to the other side and got into the passenger side. Daryl waited for her to get comfortable before he started the truck and did his best to get out without hitting the trees around him.

It took a little while for Daryl to maneuver out of the woods, but once he did, they were immediately on the road. Neither talked to each other and as the sun rose the day just kept getting warmer. "The meat is gonna spoil at this rate," Daryl said with a sigh before he pulled out his pack and lit another cigarette.

"Wait," Rory said opening the glove box, "I owe you."

"Nah," he said putting his between his lips and lighting it before holding his lighter out to her.

"Here," she said again putting a cigarette in his still opened pack before taking his lighter and lighting her cigarette up.

She took a deep breath and held it as she handed him his lighter back and then released it. "Hey," Daryl said not taking his eyes off the road, "Ya didn't have ta tell me what ya did. But if ya ever want ta talk…"

"Thanks," Rory smiled at him knowing what he was trying to say but wasn't able to find the words for.

"Hnn," Daryl nodded and then they fell into another long, but comfortable, silence. But when Rory finished her smoke she tossed it out the window before reaching for a black case with CDs inside it.

She popped one in and tilted the seat back a little to relax as they traveled the rest of the way home.

**(A/N – Please don't hate me! I hope you're still with me! I got two new jobs leading to a grand total of three and there was just so much happening this past week that I haven't been able to do anything! On the upside I did get an A on my final! Anyway, I hope you liked the story and I hope that you'll leave me some lovely reviews! Special thanks to:**

**Katarzyna88gb – I hope you're still with me and you continue to enjoy it!**

**Celia azul – Yeah I don't think Daryl will ever do anything without having a big internal debate when it comes to things like this.**

**DanathaKettu – You finally logged back in! Thanks! Everything is pretty much better now! Hope you liked it!**

**AllieKat21 – it's going to be slow for a while (their relationship) but it will continue to build!**

**Sevvus – Yeah I like the full name too, but I feel like if it was my name I would want a nick name lol. THANK YOU! It was fun to finally get her to talk, she needed it. It'll help her heal so much quicker. I hate to make chapters to long because I feel like people lose interest, sorry! I hope you're still here and that this doesn't let you down!**

**Acid-veins – Thanks for the review!**

**As always thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Keep it up!)**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

They made it through almost the entire CD before the light game on for gas. "How much further?" Rory asked.

"A few miles," Daryl said squinting against the sun to see further down the road. The only upside was that since the group came out this way a lot they had already cleared a path in the cars. "No gas in these cars?" Rory asked.

"Na," Daryl said skipping a song that came on the CD, "We took all that was left."

"Oh," Rory said as she rested her head against the window and let her mind wander.

"What?" Daryl asked after he felt she was quiet for too long.

"Just thinkin," she said glancing over at him.

"Bout," Daryl asked glancing over at her before looking back to the road.

"I don't know if I want to go back," she said, this time looking only out the window and not at Daryl.

"Why the hell wouldn't ya?" Daryl asked fighting off the sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Don't wanta talk to them. Not yet."

"Ya don't have to Arora. I told ya, ain't gotta do nothin' ya don't wanta," Daryl said hoping she would change her mind, "But ya gotta promise me ya just ain't talkin' cause yer scared."

"I'm not scared," Rory said, "I'm just not ready to deal with that right now."

"Ya don't have ta," he said again, still not looking at her, "Ya talk when yer ready. You and I are the only ones that need ta know yer talkin."

Rory nodded but didn't say anything. She knew that he wasn't going to pressure her, but she also knew that the others would continue to try to get her to talk. Daryl glanced over to her when she didn't say anything and studied her profile while she looked out the window. He let out a quiet sigh before looking back at the road and said, "I ain't gonna make ya."

"What?" she asked looking back to him more than a little confused.

"I ain't gonna force ya to stay at the prison. If ya want to leave," Daryl said refusing to look at her, "I'll get ya some gas and then ya can take off."

"Daryl," she said reaching to place a hand on his arm. Her hand hesitated for a moment, floating over his arm before she was able to place it on his warm skin. "Thank you," she said and Daryl nodded, this time he didn't look back over to her and she let the little smile she forced on her face fall before lifting her hand and looking back out the window.

They sat in silence again as Daryl drove until the truck used up the last fumes of gas. "That's it," he said turning off the truck, "We walk from here." They locked up the truck and hoped that no one else would come along before they could come back for it.

The sun was directly over them as they walked off the side of the road so that they were in the little shade that the trees gave. Rory was a few steps behind Daryl and she stopped for a moment to wipe off the sweat that was forming at her hair line before pulling out her water and taking a drink. Daryl stopped when he didn't hear her footsteps anymore and turned to check on her.

"Want some?" she asked, a little breathlessly. Daryl nodded and walked back to her and took the water bottle. She squatted down for a moment in the grass to catch her breath and Daryl watched her as he took his drink. "How much farther?" she asked looking up at him and holding a hand up to block the sun.

"At this rate," Daryl said as he looked in the direction they had been walking, "Twenty minutes or more." Rory let out a humorless laugh as she plopped backwards into the grass and spread her legs out in front of her. "What?" Daryl asked shifting his weight to his other foot as he debated sitting down with her for a moment.

"I feel like we aren't getting anywhere," she said patting the grass next to her.

"We aren't if ya keep sittin' around all day," Daryl scoffed before he sat down next to her.

"I'm injured," she said sticking her bottom lip out in a fake pout, "Remember?"

"Mhm," was Daryl's only response as a gentle breeze blew through the trees cooling the sweat on their bodies for just a split second.

"God that feels good," Rory said closing her eyes and tilting her head up towards the sky until the breeze died back down. Daryl had watched her from the minute she had closed her eyes and watched as a bead of sweat trickled down from her hair line and down her neck until it reached her collar bone and settled in the dip of her neck. He ripped his eyes away from her as when he realized how hard it was to keep from leaning over and licking up the little bead and follow it back up to her neck. "Daryl?" Rory called out to him.

"What?" he grunted out a little harsher than he meant to.

"Where'd ya go?" she asked as she studied his face.

"Whatcha mean?" he asked standing up hoping that she didn't see the truth of what he was thinking on his face.

"You just zoned out. I called you like three times before you heard me," Rory said standing up and brushing off her pants and fixing her shirt.

"So," Daryl said as he started walking again.

"Just wondered what you were thinking about is all," she said catching up to him with a bit of a limp. Daryl mentally cursed when he saw her limp and slowed down so that she didn't have to walk as fast.

"Just want ta get back," he said keeping an eye on her from the corner of his eyes.

"Oh," she said quietly, "I was thinking about that."

"And?" Daryl asked already putting up a wall for when she said she was just going to leave.

"And," she said fidgeting with the straps on her pack, "I think I want to stay?"

"Ya think?"

"I want to," she said a little stronger, "As long as you don't mind me being there."

"Why would I care?" he said before he realized how that sounded.

"I just don't want to be a burden," she said now picking at her finger nails, "It's not that everyone there isn't nice to me, but I just don't feel as comfortable around them as I do with you."

"I don't care," he said getting angry that he wasn't making it sound right. He wanted her to stay, he just wasn't so sure on how he could tell her that he was ok with her being around him, that he actually liked it

"Ok," she said trying not to take his tone of voice to heart. A beat went by before Daryl huffed out a sigh and turned his head to see her. She was trying so hard to keep up with him, but she was looking down at her feet as they walked. "Anytime ya want to come out huntin with me," he said looking back down the road as the prison started coming into view, "Ya can."

"Yeah?" Rory asked looking back up to him. Daryl looked at her and she looked like a puppy who had just been given praise by it's master.

"Ya," Daryl said looking away from her again, "Even if ya just need to get a way fer a bit, let me know."

"Ok," Rory said smiling before looking up the road to the prison again and her steps faltered.

"Just remember," Daryl said as he stopped to look at her, she turned to face him and he continued, "If I ever see ya doin stupid shit like that again," he said motioning to her thigh, "I ain't takin ya nowhere."

"Deal," she said holding out her hand to him. Daryl smirked and huffed before his large hand wrapped around hers. They shook and then Daryl readied his bow as they got closed to the gate. Rory readied her knife a moment later and her smile vanished from her face. "Ya ain't gotta talk ta no one," Daryl said once more as they moved through the walkers that were gathered around the gate.

Rory nodded to him as they stayed side by side taking out the walkers that got to close while the people on watch inside the prison called out to the other walkers to get their attention. The gates opened and Rory hurried in while Daryl pulled a bolt out of one of the walkers he shot down before he followed her inside.

No sooner were they in the safety of the fence did Rick come up to them. "There you are," he said first looking over Daryl then Rory, "We were wondering where you got off to. Find anything?"

"Yeah," Daryl said as he nodded his head for Rory to walk with him and Rick followed, "Found her truck. Drove it more than half way 'ere, but we gotta go get it."

"Supplies?" Rick asked glancing at Rory before turning back to Daryl.

"Yeah," Daryl responded as they walked into the prison and up to their rooms, "Hell of a lot of 'em."

"When do you want to leave?" Rick asked and Rory's hand shot out to grab Daryl's wrist silently asking him not to go out again so soon.

"Gotta get it 'fore anyone else does," Daryl said to her before turning back to Rick, "Just gotta grab a few things then I'll get some people to go with. Hershel needs to look over Girl though."

"You alright?" Rick asked looking her from head to toe.

"Just want to make sure she didn't push too hard out there," Daryl said speaking for her.

"I'll let Hershel know," Rick said turning to leave, "I'll see who wants to make the trip with you."

Daryl nodded his good bye to Rick before following Rory back into her room. "Ya need to take a shower and wash off whatever yer covered in," Daryl said to her as he dropped down in the chair by the wall of her cell. Rory turned to him with one eye brow raised as if to tell him he didn't smell so hot either.

"I'm not the one that's 'injured,'" he said mocking her from earlier. Rory rolled her eyes as she leaned against the wall next to where he was sitting before sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them to her before resting her chin on them and closing her eyes.

Daryl watched her as she got comfortable and when she closed her eyes he reached one hand out and patted her head softly. "Ya did good out there," he said now resting his hand on her head, "Don't think I told ya that. But ya did."

He picked his hand up and Rory turned her head to smile up at him. He could see how tired she was now that she was safe again and he was a little upset that he had pushed her so hard. But even though she looked like she was about to fall asleep leaning against the wall, he could see how much his words meant to her. He nodded to her once and she closed her eyes while a soft smile spread across her face.

Daryl took that moment to really look at her. Her injuries weren't very old, but they were healing quickly and Daryl could already see the beautiful girl under the fading cuts and bruises. The most recent, on her face, but even they were fading to show the girl he had seen in her photo book.

While Daryl had started thinking about the book he zoned out a little again and her light snoring brought him back to reality. He smirked at her as she sagged against the wall. He didn't want to put her on her bed with how dirty she and her clothes were, and luckily he didn't have to worry about it long because Hershel walked into the room.

"She asleep?" Hershel asked walking over to Daryl.

"Yeah," Daryl said standing up and looking down to her, "Pushed her hard out there."

"Should've let her rest here," Hershel said, but the minute Daryl looked back up to Hershel, he knew that Daryl was right in taking her out of here. She could've hurt someone at the rate it was going and she had already hurt herself. "It's good she got out though," Hershel said smiling down at the girl.

When she was like this you could almost forget how dangerous she could be. "Don't want to leave her there," Hershel said looking back up to Daryl, "Think you could wake her up?"

Daryl raised an eye brow at the older man and realized that he was the best person to wake her up, just in case she forgot where she was and lashed out. He squatted down and reached out a hand to place on her arm. "Wake up," Daryl said moving her gently, "Girl ya gotta wake up now." Daryl gave a small smile at the way she scrunched up her face and tried to turn away so she could continue to sleep. "Naw," Daryl said shaking her a little bit more, "Wake up."

Sighing Rory slowly opened her eyes to see Daryl in front of her and Hershel standing back a little to give them some space. "Come on," Daryl said standing up and offering her his hand. Carefully she placed her hand in his and he helped her up. Her knees buckled a little under her weight and Daryl caught her and held her up.

"Feel like showering?" Hershel asked as he looked her over, "It'll make it easier to check you for injuries."

Before Hershel could even finish talking she had started shaking her head no.

"Don't be stubborn," Daryl said. Rory looked up at him with scared eyes and Daryl felt like an ass, but he knew she needed to get cleaned up. "I'll stand watch," he said, "Just like last time."

"She's going to need someone in there just in case she collapses," Hershel said making Rory whip her head to face him throwing herself off balance. Daryl steadied her again before nodding at Hershel. "Let me see what Beth's doing," Hershel said before leaving the room.

"Sit," Daryl said helping her to the chair he had been using. Rory was shaking and Daryl knew that she dreaded the showers her. Not that he blamed her. Half the time he used them it was at night when everyone was asleep. And he hadn't even been hurt like she had, so he couldn't begin to understand what she was feeling. "I ain't gonna let nothing happen ta ya," Daryl said kneeling down next to her as he kept his arm around her to hold her up, just in case. "Yer gonna be fine," Daryl said again turning her face to look at him, "Say it."

"I'm gonna be fine," she whispered, but it sounded more like a whimper.

"Yer safe," he said again leaning his forehead against hers. He knew it helped her to focus on him and helped her to believe that she really was safe.

"I'm safe," she said taking a deep breath and then letting it out.

"Good," Daryl said before standing and kissing her briefly on the top of her head. Seconds later Beth and Hershel walked in, Beth with new clean clothes in her arms. "Ready Violet?" she asked Rory and Daryl almost corrected Beth. But he bit his tongue knowing that he couldn't do that without everyone knowing that she had talked to him.

He followed behind Beth and Rory and Hershel as they made their way to the bathrooms. Hershel and Daryl went in first to make sure everyone was out before they left the bathroom so that the girls could go in. And just like before, Daryl stood watch while Rory hurried to clean herself, except this time he thought about everything that had changed since the last time they were in this position.

**(A/N – I am so so so so so sorry that I have been gone. I have a full time job now and it is just so stressful that the first few days I've just cried when I came home. It is really that bad. But hopefully it's just the stress of a new job and things will get better. It doesn't help that I'm sick…. But I hope you're still reading and you're still here with me! Special thanks to: **

**Katarzyna88gb**

**SeverusSnape'sLove**

**Danathakettue**

**Sorry again for taking so long : ( I hope that you're still here. Let me here from you!)**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

**(A/N – So now that we know Rory's name, I will use it only when it is her thinking, or when Daryl is thinking or talking to her. When there is another character involved, they will still refer to her as Violet. Even Daryl will call her Girl when others are around to hear him. If it doesn't make sense let me know and I'll try to explain in better!)**

Beth stood outside the sheet waiting to make sure that everything was ok with Violet as she showered. But as Beth stood there she wondered what happened with Violet and Daryl while they had been outside the prison. There seemed to be a better understanding between them then there was before, not that they didn't seem connected before. But now they seemed connected on a completely different level.

Rory stood under the cool water letting it soak into her hair. She just stood there watching the water run down her body and swirl with light red and dark brown as it went down the drain. A shutter ran through her whenever the red grew brighter or more consistent as the water hit her cuts. She felt a little light headed, but she knew that was more because she was tired rather than the little blood she was losing. When the floor began to tilt under her she moved her arms to press against the wall to hold her up, but the cold tiles did nothing to keep her up straight and when the floor tilted under her again, she fell.

Daryl stood outside the showers watching to make sure no one would walk in on Aurora and waiting to make sure that she was ok before he left to get her truck. He knew that there was no point in even going to get the meat at this point. If an animal or walker hadn't eaten it yet, this heat would have spoiled it. He stopped pacing in the hall and leaned his back against the wall and started chewing on the skin of his thumb while he waited for her.

"Daryl!" Beth called out when she heard Violet collapse in the shower. Daryl didn't even stop to ask what happened, he hurried in with Hershel right behind him. "What happened?" Daryl asked coming up to Beth who was sitting on the ground getting soaked by the water. She had managed to throw a towel over the girl's body, but she hadn't shut off the water yet.

Daryl reached in, ignoring the cold spray of the water as it soaked through his sleeve. Beth was holding Violet's head in her lap as she tried to push the damp hair out of the girl's face. "Beth," Hershel said kneeling down next to his youngest daughter, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Beth said, "I was waiting for her to finish when I heard something fall. When she didn't respond I peeked in and she was lying face down in the water. I pulled her back to make sure that she wasn't breathing in the water. But there was a lot of blood daddy."

"Daryl," Hershel tried to get the man's attention. Daryl was standing behind Beth still watching the blood running down the white tile to swirl down the drain and he felt like he was going to be sick.

"Daryl," Hershel said a little louder and Daryl's head whipped to look at the older man, "Lift her up a bit so Beth can run and get my things from Violet's room while I check her out." Daryl nodded once before moving quickly and taking Beth's spot. The moment the Daryl took her spot Beth was gone and Daryl wished someone else was here to do this.

With Aurora laying in his lap like this, she looked dead. Her skin was cold and had a blueish tint to it replacing her normal tan color. There was blood soaking through the white towel that was thrown over her chest and lower half. She was hardly breathing, and she didn't respond as Hershel poked and prodded her. When Hershel lifted the towel some over her thighs Daryl's hand shot out pressing it down. "The fuck are ya doin?" he growled.

"She's hurt on her upper thighs. I need to look at them," Hershel said in a calming voice. Daryl nodded slowly as he moved his hand and watched as Hershel covered up Aurora's lower parts but left enough to see her higher injuries. "Hand me the wash cloth," Hershel said holding his hand out to Daryl, "We need to clean the rest of her before I can redress her injuries."

Not responding Daryl looked around and found the rag before handing it to Hershel who worked quickly to clean off the blood and the little dirt that clung to her body. "Daryl," Hershel said as Beth hurried back into the room, "Can you clean up her face and arms?"

Daryl nodded taking the cloth from Hershel as Beth handed her father a dry towel. Daryl watched for a moment before he looked down at her face. Daryl fought off the strange feeling in his stomach as the blood continued to mix with the water on her face and run off the side causing a stream of pink water. This cut on her forehead was new and Daryl hated that he just couldn't seem to stop her from getting hurt.

Swallowing the lump in his throat he pressed the cloth to her forehead lightly before moving around to clean up all that he could reach. He stopped where the towel started and moved it as low as he dared too as he cleaned, "Beth," Daryl said handing her the cloth now that he was done with what he was comfortable with.

"Thanks," Beth said nodding with a small smile. Daryl turned his head away and Beth waited for him to turn before she lowered the towel and hurriedly cleaned off the dirt that Violet hadn't finished. Beth took tally of all the cuts her father would need to look at before she covered Violet back up and told Daryl it was ok to look now.

When Daryl looked back Hershel was already moving up the injuries that were higher on her body and Beth motioned for Daryl to move and Daryl slid out letting Beth take his place. "Why don't you go get her bed ready, by the time you get back we will have everything patched up enough I can put her clothes on and you can take her to bed," Beth said.

"She'll be ok," Hershel said looking at the cut and bump that had started to form on her head already, "I don't think she has a concussion. More than likely she collapsed from exhaustion and then hit her head on the way down, so she didn't knock herself out. But we will still need to watch her to make sure she doesn't get worse."

Daryl didn't need to ask what Hershel meant by worse, he had had enough concussions when he was growing up to know all the ways that things could get worse. Daryl nodded and walked out of the bathroom trying not to think about what could happen to her.

Beth worked quickly with her father to get everything wrapped and cleaned before Daryl got back. It didn't take them long before they had to turn Violet over to get to her back. Hershel let out a deep sigh when he saw that almost all of her serious injuries had reopened. He did his best with what he had to close her back up and bandage what he could.

When Hershel put on the last bandage he stood and helped Beth dry Violet before turning to get the clean clothes. Beth took them and her farther helped move Violet onto drier ground before Beth got Violet dressed. Beth pulled Violet's shirt down just as Daryl rounded the corner and walked over and into the bathroom.

"She's ready," Hershel said cleaning up the last of the blood and dirt in the bathroom so no one would worry if they saw it.

Daryl nodded and bent over to scoop her up into his arms. "Watch her head," Beth said following behind Daryl as he walked back to Violet's room. Daryl grunted to let her know they he heard her warning and continued to walk, doing his best not to jostle her too much. Daryl couldn't help but notice how light she felt in his arms and he wondered if she would truly be ok.

Rick was waiting at Violet's room when Daryl reached it. "What happened?" Rick asked seeing the unconscious girl in Daryl's arms.

"She's just tired," Beth said moving past Rick and into Violet's room. She moved to the bed Daryl had straightened and pulled the blanket back so Daryl could lay Violet down. Daryl shifted around Beth and did his best to lay Girl down without waking her. He knew that Rick was standing there watching, but Daryl didn't turn to face him or speak to him. He was too concerned about Girl right now to care what the former officer had to say.

Beth pulled the blanket up and over Violet before turning to face Daryl. "Are you going to stay with her or should I go grab my things?" Beth asked,

"I'll stay with her," Daryl said ignoring the look that spread over Rick's face, "But I gotta get cleaned up and get somethin to eat. 'm starvin."

"Sounds good," Beth said pulling the chair from the side of the room over the Violet's bed side and making herself comfortable.

Daryl turned to walk out of the room and Rick opened his mouth to speak. Daryl shook his head telling Rick not to talk in here, he wanted to make sure that Girl got as much rest as she could. It was his fault that she was in this position, he knew that. If he hadn't pushed her so hard out there, she would be ok. He knew that she wasn't ok, but she acted like she was handling everything ok and Daryl hadn't wanted to baby her. But he should have known better. Everyone had their limits and he pushed her past hers.

"What," Daryl said as Rick followed him into the cell Daryl was using.

"What about the truck?" Rick asked leaning in the opened doorway, "Everyone is waiting for you outside."

"I can draw ya a map," Daryl said picking up a shirt and smelling it before looking for the rest of his clean clothes, "They can find it."

"She's just sleeping Daryl," Rick said walking up to the dirt covered red neck, "Beth's there. She can look after her when she wakes up."

"She's already takin care of lil ass kicker," Daryl said turning to face Rick, "She's gonna be out of it when she wakes up. Wanta make sure tha she don't hurt no body or herself."

"You really think she's going to hurt someone?" Rick asked stepping back so that Daryl could leave the room.

"If ya woke up hurtin, in a different place than ya were, and with the past she has. Ya could hurt someone too," Daryl said making his way to the showers for what seemed like the tenth time for that day.

"Maybe we need to think about restraints," Rick thought out loud.

"Like hell," Daryl said spinning to face Rick.

"If she's really that dangerous we should restrain her," Rick said trying to keep Daryl calm, "Like you said, she could hurt someone. Or herself. There's too many kids around here that could get hurt. What if Beth or Hershel is in there and she wakes up disorientated?"

"That's why I'm gonna be there," Daryl said walking away, "No fuckin restraints."

"Daryl," Rick said as they entered the bathroom. Rick looked around to make sure that there was still no one in there, "This is something we should consider. You're not going to always be there. And what happens if she hurts you while she's coming to?"

"She ain't gonna," Daryl said pulling open the sheet that worked as a privacy wall in the shower and stripping.

"You don't know that," Rick said turning to give the man privacy. Daryl didn't even blink at the fact that Rick was still there as he turned on the water and began to wash up.

"I do know," Daryl said rinsing the suds from his hair and body, "She ain't gonna hurt me. And I ain't gonna let her hurt herself neither."

Rick sighed and shook his head, he knew that he wasn't going to win this fight with Daryl. "Alright," Rick said waiting for Daryl to finish so he could draw up a map to the truck, "But then you're responsible if it does happen." Daryl didn't answer the man as he scrubbed off more and more dirt.

By the time Daryl turned off the water he could've swore he scrubbed off three layers of skin to get all the dirt off. He never really cared about how dirty he was before, but now he wasn't sure if he was stalling to go back to her room, or if he really wanted to be clean for her.

"Done?" Rick asked leaning against the entrance to the bathrooms. Daryl glanced at the man, he was getting tired of Rick lately. Daryl understood what Rick was going through, but he also knew that Rick needed to snap out of it and pull his head out of his ass. Rick had two kids to take care of, not to mention a prison full of people who looked to Rick for direction. And instead of being the leader that everyone knew he could be, Rick was off playing farmer and son with Carl. Sure, Carl had been acting fucked up lately, but Daryl thought that the boy was ready now for his dad to get back to work. Daryl jerked on his clothes, ignoring the way his jeans stuck to his damp skin.

"I'll draw ya yer fuckin map," Daryl said walking over to Rick who was holding out a paper and pencil to him. Daryl put the paper up against the wall and drew out the roads that he and Girl had used to get back to the prison. He drew about where the truck should be and on the back of the paper he wrote down what the truck looked like and what was around the truck. "Come on," Daryl said handing the paper and pencil back to Rick, "I'll get you the key."

The two men walked down the hallway in a heavy silence until they reached her room. "Stay here," Daryl said to Rick before ducking under the sheet and into the room.

Moments later Daryl came back out and handed the key to Rick before walking out to the yard with him. "You want to tell me what's going on with her?" Rick finally said as Daryl walked up to get food.

"Whatcha mean?" Daryl asked not looking at Rick but watching the amount of food placed on his plate.

"What's with the interest in this one? You've never shown this much interest in one of the people you've brought back," Rick said watching the man carefully.

"Ain't ever brought someone like her," Daryl said and realized how it sounded and quickly corrected himself, "She was hurt when I brought her back. She don't trust nobody else. Don't want anythin happenin. I brought her back, she's my responsibility."

"That's all?" Rick asked, one eye brow raised as Daryl walked back towards the prison, food in hand.

"Yep," Daryl said waving one hand in a goodbye to Rick and to signal he was done with this conversation.

Carol walked up to stand next to Rick just as he let out a sigh. "What?" she asked watching Daryl disappear into the prison. "He says she's just his responsibility. Think that's it?" Rick sked turning to face the woman he's known for just as long as Daryl.

"I think that's what he thinks," Carol said facing Rick and crossing her arms over her chest, "I think he's getting to close."

"What do you mean?" Rick asked as he took in her body language.

"I think she's dangerous," Carol said walking over to take her spot on the food line, "I think he's too close to see how dangerous she is. She's going to hurt someone someday. He's going to blame himself. We don't know the first thing about her Rick. What if she's from another group?"

"You think she's setting us up?" Rick asked crossing his arms now.

"Maybe," Carol said waiting for the person to work their way through the food line before she continued her conversation, "All I'm saying is that we need to get her talking. We need to know who she is. What she wants to gain by living here. And we need to get Daryl away for it. I think you know just as much as I do that he's never going to let us near her if we are going to be demanding answers from her."

Rick nodded and Carol gave him one nod in return as more people started coming to the food line, ending their conversation.

Rick walked away to find the people that were going out to find Violet's truck and he thought about everything that Daryl said and everything that Carol had said. Rick didn't think that Violet was an immediate threat, but then again, she could be dangerous. The closer Rick got to the scouting group the more he decided that he needed to talk to Hershel about what he was going to do before he did anything.

**(A/N – So because I was so bad and didn't update for such a long time, I'm hoping that you will take this chapter as an apology. On that note, I know that Rory seems to be getting hurt a lot, but I promise that it is for a reason! And I wanted to say that Aurora is what Daryl will be calling her unless he is calling her Girl out of habit but once everyone learns her name, it will be easier to keep names in order! Sorry for any confusion! Special thanks to:**

**Danathakettu: I'm so glad you're still here! I was worried I lost you! Thank you thank you thank you!**

**Katarzyna88gb: Good! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Simple1234: Thanks!**

**Let me know what you're thinking!)**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

Daryl was still pissed at how everyone had been treating Girl, he knew they just wanted to be safe, but for fuck's sake, she was a scared and injured girl. Couldn't they just let her get better in peace? He stopped outside of her cell and paused. He could hear Beth in their humming to herself and wondered if this was really his place. He knew that Girl would want him there, but was he really helping her that way? He wouldn't always be there when she woke up and he wanted her to get use to other people being there with her.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself for what he was going to do. He pulled the sheet aside and cleared his throat. Beth looked up from feeding Judith and gave him a smile. He motioned for her to come out and talk to him, she glanced at Violet once more before standing up and walking towards him.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"Gonna go with 'em," Daryl said dropping the sheet once Beth was out of the way.

"Thought you were going to stay with her?" Beth asked knowing how Violet would feel when she woke up.

"They need ma help," he said bringing his thumb to his mouth and chewing on the dry skin there.

"Alright," she sighed, "Can you sit with her while I go get my things?"

Daryl thought for a moment about just leaving, but he just couldn't do that to her. He nodded and Beth took off to get her and Judith's things for the night.

Daryl hesitated for a moment before he lifted the sheet again and walked into the room. The sun was getting lower and the shadows in her room made him stop so his eye could adjust for a moment. When they did, he walked over the chair Beth had been sitting in and dropped into it. He hadn't realized how tired he was until that moment.

Resting his eyes for a moment, he sighed and then looked over to Girl's sleeping form. _Aurora._ He corrected himself. _Her name's Rory. _When he actually allowed himself to look at her, and not just her form, he saw her face. She almost looked as if she was made out of porcelain and her dark hair didn't help that. Her face was relaxed and her hands were resting on her stomach. She didn't look real. Or alive. And Daryl had to look away when that thought went through his head.

When he looked back he wondered how a girl so small and fragile looking could have survived this long. He knew she was strong, but looking at her the way she was now. She looked like a child. Looking back at the door he quickly leaned forward and brushed her hair from her forehead before kissing her there for a long moment. She didn't even more when his lips touched her head and when he pulled away he spoke to her, "Ain't gonna let nothin' hurt ya no more. Yer gonna get better. Ya made it this far, yer gonna keep goin."

Just as he sat back down in the chair Beth walked back in with a bag over her shoulder. Daryl stood up and she offered him Judith. He took the baby into his arms and walked back to the edge of Rory's bed. He looked down at her and his stomach tightened making him feel sick. He hated that he felt like this around her sometimes. He didn't want to hurt her, he wanted to make her better. So how come he was feeling like this? He put his hand on Rory's shoulder for a moment before turning to hand Judith back to Beth.

"Be back when I can," he said and Beth nodded at him before she sat back down on her chair and watched Daryl leave shaking her head as he walked out.

Daryl hurried to catch the group before they left. Maggie and Glenn were going, which he didn't expect and another person that someone had picked up a few months ago. Daryl never did remember his name.

Rick saw Daryl first and he waved to him. "Forget something?" Rick asked as Daryl walked closer.

"Changed ma mind," Daryl said.

"Riding with us or your bike?" Glenn asked.

"I'll drive," Daryl said walking to the driver side of the car. Rick nodded and walked away feeling a little less worried now that Daryl was going after all.

"Paul sit up front," Glenn said as he and Maggie climbed into the back of the car.

"Sounds good," the man said climbing in. Daryl looked around once more and waited for the people at the gate to start waving him forward. He took one last look at the prison and got into the car.

Carol watched as Daryl climbed into the car. She saw him look back at the prison and knew that he was too attached to that girl. She also knew that if they wanted answers from her, they were going to have to do it now while Daryl was gone.

She stood where she was until Rick started back up the hill after the gates were closed and secured. "Rick," she called out and the sheriff turned and headed over to her without a missed step.

"Yeah?" he said as they made their way to the garden.

"I was thinking about going to talk to her now," Carol said watching Rick's reaction from the corner of her eye.

Now Rick's steps faltered. "She's sleeping," he said quickly.

"Wake her up," Carol said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"She needs her rest Carol," Rick said stopping and looking over the crops.

"We need our answers," Carol said crossing her arms lightly over her chest, "She's almost hurt how many of us now?"

"I talked to Daryl about restraints," Rick said not looking at her.

"Surprised you don't have black eyes," Carol said with a small smile on her face.

"Me too," Rick said with a huff, "She does need the sleep though."

"We should restrain her," Carol said.

"Daryl said no," Rick said turning to face her.

"But he's not here to protect anyone that goes into her room. She could hurt someone, or herself," Carol said facing Rick now.

"I know," Rick sighed turning to look at the people that were walking around the prison.

"It needs to be done," Carol said again following Rick's gaze, "We can take them off when he gets back."

Rick closed his eyes and ran his hands over his face. "Beth's in there right now," Carol said placing her hand on his arm, "With Judith. If she wakes up and lashes out…" Carol didn't finish her thoughts, but she didn't need to.

"You're right," Rick said slowly, "Give me a hand?"

"Sure," Carol said walking next to him as they made their way to the prison.

"Hey Beth," Carol said as they walked into the room.

"What's going on?" Beth asked standing up.

"You can go on and take Judith to bed," Rick said walking over to the blonde girl, "Carol's going to sit in here with her until Daryl gets back."

"Why?" Beth asked, "I don't mind."

"Just in case she's confused when she wakes up," Rick spoke as he kissed a sleeping Judith on the head.

"Alright," Beth said with one more look from Carol to Rick, "Give me a call if you need anything."

"Thanks," Carol said as Beth stepped out, "Should we move her?"

"No," Rick said walking over to the bed, "She'll be ok in here until Daryl gets back."

"Alright," Carol said taking out her zip ties and gently pulled over Violet's right foot to the side of the bed where she restrained it. Rick hand cuffed Violet's right arm to the top of the bed at the same time Carol was moving to Violet's left leg. Rick knew that this had to be done, but he hated it at the same time. Carol finished restraining Violet's legs a few seconds before Rick finished her hands.

Rick came to stand next to Carol and sighed. "We're doing the right thing," Carol said with her hand on his shoulder, "We're keeping everyone safe."

"I know," Rick said thinking that he needed to go find Hershel and see what the older man had to say about this.

"I'll take first watch," Carol said and Rick nodded before patting her hand that was still resting on his shoulder and he headed out.

Carol watched and waited for Rick to leave before she pulled the chair closer to the sleeping girl. Carol hated that they had to do this. They shouldn't be worried about a threat inside the prison walls. If it was up to Carol, they wouldn't have wasted the medical supplies and food on this sickly girl. Carol couldn't begin to even imagine how a girl so weak could have survived this long. _She probably talked someone into taking care of her and protecting her, poor guy probably died trying._ Carol thought to herself. Then Daryl's face popped into her mind. There was no one she was going to let Daryl or anyone else get hurt because of this weak little girl.

Carol looked around the room until she spotted Daryl's knife. Was Daryl really so wrapped around this girl's finger that he would leave an object like there near her? Carol shook her head, Daryl was never so careless. She looked back over the girl laying in the bed. What was so special about this girl that Daryl just couldn't see the danger right in front of him?

Carol stood and pulled the blanket off of Violet making the girl shiver at the cooling air. She didn't wake though and Carol pulled at Violet's clothes. She took into account every cut and bruise on the girl's body before covering her back up and sitting down in the chair. Carol leaned back and wondered if she should wake the girl now and start questioning her, or if she should let the girl get some rest.

After a few minutes Carol decided it would be best if Violet got some rest so that when she did wake her up, she would be able to think clearly. Standing up, Carol walked around the small cell and then looked back to Violet. She wasn't moving in her sleep, and Carol had to watch carefully just to see the rise and fall of the girl's chest.

"Be right back," Carol said out loud before leaving the cell to go grab some of her things that she would be needing for the night.

_Where am I? Daryl? Where is he? Why can't I move? I was in the shower. Beth was standing there waiting for me. Daryl was guarding the door. Then everything went black. It happened so fast. Too fast. I couldn't call out to Beth in time. Did I hit my head? Am I dead? Why isn't Daryl here? I feel so cold. Can't move. Why can't I move?_

She woke up to a darkened room, alone. She tried to sit up, but not only did her head throb, stopping her from sitting up, but she physically couldn't. She tried to keep her breathing calm until her eyes adjusted to the light. She looked around. Usually someone was sitting in the room with her. Why was she alone now?

She tried to move again, and this time she heard a metallic clink. She turned her head to the side slowly to see that she was hand cuffed to the bed. She looked back to her other hand to see there were zip ties holding her in place. Looking down at her feet, she saw the same thing. She started to pull at them, hoping that she could pull hard enough to brake them.

But her body was so sore, and she was so tired, and her head hurt even worse. Black started to cloud her vision and she knew she was going to pass out again. But she wanted to be free. She needed to be free. She thrashed around and the hand cuffs clanked hard against the bed while the zip ties dug into her wrists. She pulled harder when it stopped hurting so much, but it did no good. The darkness threatened to pull her under and with one final struggle, she flailed again. But it did nothing.

Carol had been down the hallway when she heard the clanking of the hand cuffs. She looked around to make sure that no one else was around to hear it before she made her way into the room. But by the time she got there she saw the last thrash of Violet's body before the girl passed out again. Carol sighed and shook her head before she walked into the room.

Stupid girl, used too much energy and knocked herself out again. If she wasn't in here and this happened a walker would get her. Carol put her things down on the floor and walked over to the bed. The girl's chest was rising and falling faster than before, but now that she was asleep again, it was slowing down. Carol picked up Violet's hand that was held with the hand cuffs and saw blood running around her wrist. She put that hand down and moved to look at the other restraints.

The zip ties were the worst, and for a moment she was worried about what Daryl would do when he got back. But she shook her head and knew that he would get over it because it was protecting everyone else. And this way, they would at least get to know this knew threat.

She walked over to her things and questioned using her towels to pad Violet's wrists to stop her from further injury, but she didn't want to get perfectly good towels covered in blood. And if anyone asked her why Violet's injuries were so bad, she would just tell them that Violet wouldn't listen to reason and Carol was worried about getting to close.

Rory didn't dream while she was asleep. She was too tired and too sore to dream. And for that, she was happy. She didn't want to remember any of the bad things that have been happening to her. And the world. There was just too many negative things to risk dreaming about. The darkness she was experiencing now, this was the best thing she could hope for.

However, she did miss her dream about Daryl. _Daryl, _she thought,_ where is he? Why isn't he here? Was he the one that tied me down? No. Not Daryl. _She was sure Daryl would never be ok with this. And even if it was something that he had considered for even a moment, he would've talked to her about it instead of tying her up and leaving her there.

She needed to wake up. She needed to get freed. She was tired, so very tired. But if something was happening she needed to know what was going on. She needed to find Daryl. Beth. Hershel. Someone that would help her. But first, she needed to get out of the restraints.

Pushing through the growing throbbing pain coming from her head, she pushed through the darkness and struggled to open her eyes. At first, she could only keep her eyes opened for a few seconds at a time, but finally she was able to keep her eyes opened long enough to see what was around her.

To her right there was a dark figure. She knew that it wasn't Daryl because of the size, so for a moment she thought it was Beth. But when the figure stood and made her way over to the bed, she knew that something was wrong. "Do you remember me?" the woman asked. She could see the woman clearly now. It was the lady she had met only once before. "Do you know who I am?" the woman tried again, not yelling, but talking loud enough to make Violet's head hurt worse. Rory nodded. "Good," Carol said pulling the chair closer to the side of the bed. "Just to make sure, my name is Carol," Carol said and watched as Violet pulled on her wrists. "Doesn't that hurt?" Carol asked with confusion in her voice.

She nodded a yes and looked up to Carol as if to say, why don't you take them off?

"Then stop pulling on them," Carol said and then straightened the blanket over Violet. "Daryl's not here right now and we decided it would be safer if made sure you couldn't hurt anyone until we got to know a little more about you." Carol leaned over and grabbed something that Violet couldn't see which made her even more nervous. Which in turn caused her to pull on her feet and wrists more.

"You should really stop that before you hurt yourself," Carol said sitting back down, "Now. You know my name, it's just polite to tell me yours."

Violet looked up at the lady like she had lost her mind. She knew that Violet wasn't talking to anyone. _Unless Daryl told her that you are talking._ No. He wouldn't do that to her. She knew better then that. So why was Carol asking her things when she knew that she wouldn't answer her.

"Ok," Carol said with a smile on her face but a threat in her voice, "Let's try again." Carol set Daryl's knife down on the side of the bed and leaned over pressing her hand to one of Violet's bandaged wounds. "My name is Carol," Carol smiled like she was a soccer mom getting to know the new mom of the group, "What's yours?"

Violet flinched and bit the inside of her cheek as Carol pressed down a little harder. She wouldn't give into this. She just had to survive this until Daryl got back. He would stop this. Right?

"Fine then," Carol said all smile gone from her face, "Let's try this." She picked up the knife and held it to a spot Hershel had stitched up. "One more time. What is your name?"

**(A/N – SORRY! I'm sorry… I am back though. I knew it's been a while… But I'm officially a lead teacher in a class room now! And it's been hell because I have to catch up on lesson plans and prep the room and ect and they've been having me work over time since I started! So I am very sorry that I haven't had time to update, but I'm trying to make this job stick! Anyway enough about me, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know we are seeing crazy/scary Carol a little early but I think it was needed. She didn't just go crazy over night! Special thanks to: **

**Simple1234**

**Corina27 – Physically she will… but mentally it will take some time! Hope you're still here!**

**Danathakettu – Don't hate me! Hope you're still here and you like this chapter! I know you're usually right on top of it when I post, I hope you still are! Didn't kill Carol yet though! She's important to the plot!**

**AllieKat21 – haha I know at first I felt bad for her, then she just kinda went… weird lol. Hope you're still lovin' it!**

**Kaybal3**

**Sevvus – So I'm sorry that you came into the story now! I use to post once a week! I hope you're still here with us and that you still like the story. I will tell you that she will be talking to everyone soon, not because of Carol, but because of something big that's going to happen!**

**Good to hear from you all! Let me know what you think!)**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Carol slipped the tip of the blade under the stitches and pressed down until fresh blood started to appear. Violet bit her tongue so hard a metallic taste filled her mouth, but she refused to cry out. She wouldn't give Carol that.

"If you just tell me who you are and what you plan on doing here," Carol said cutting a little deeper before pulling the knife away and setting it down, "Then all of this will be over. Just speak."

Violet pulled at her restraints again and felt the sting of pain that followed each time she moved her limbs. The plastic and metal continued to cut deeper into her wrists, but with Carol pressing on her injuries, the restraints hardly registered. "Oh sweetie," Carol cooed and checked to make sure that there was no blood on the knife before turning her attention back to Violet, "We can't let you stay here if you could be a threat."

Violet's eyes shot to the door praying that Daryl would walk through at any second. "Daryl won't want you here either if you can't be helpful, or if you end up being dangerous. He'll understand eventually. He wants his family to be safe, and if you're a threat to that…" Carol let her voice trail off and Violet looked away.

She knew better than to think that Daryl would ever just abandon her. He told her he would protect her. _So then why isn't he here now? Daryl, where are you?_ "If you won't talk to me," Carol said leaning to press on another injury causing Violet to cringe and squeeze her eyes shut, "Then I will make sure you will not be here long."

With that being said Carol stood up and started to walk over to her things. Violet tried to breathe but when Carol started to come back, she knew that it had been false hope. Carol walked back over with a bottle that looked to be rubbing alcohol. She sat back down in the chair before she leaned over Violet, "You need to leave everyone here alone until we know you're not a threat," Carol said tipping the liquid onto Violet's skin.

Violet pursed her lips and tried not to call out. She tried to let her mind wander away from here. To a better place, but the pain was too random and too intense for her to let her mind leave. "Stay away from Daryl," Carol said pouring the liquid on another open injury, "Stay away from Beth. And Judith. And Hershel. And Rick." With every name Carol poured a little more onto Violet.

"Rick had agreed to keep you tied down when Daryl's not here to protect everyone from you," Carol said standing now, "And he won't always be here to protect you. We watch out for our own. And you're just an intruder." With that Carol poured the stinging liquid onto the last cut she had made by Violet's stitches. "Stay away from them," Carol said and Violet knew that Carol said everyone, but she knew Carol meant to say stay away from Daryl.

Carol started putting away the few things she had unpacked when Violet saw the sheet move and her heart jumped thinking it was Daryl. "Hey," she heard Beth's voice before she saw her, "Why is she tied down?" Beth hurried to Violet's bed side and studied her for a moment. "What happened to her wrists?" Beth asked moving to undo the restraints.

"Don't," Carol said softly and took Beth's hand away, "Rick decided it would be best when Daryl's not here to keep her tied down until she is calm and in the right state of mind. This way she can't hurt herself or anyone."

"But look!" Beth said pointing at the fresh blood that stained the sheets on her bed, "She hurt herself already!"

"She just struggled too much," Carol said walking to her things, "Imagine what she could have done if she wasn't held back."

"She's never hurt anyone," Beth argued, "How could Rick do this without talking to daddy?"

"We didn't want to wait," Carol said turning to sit back down on the chair.

"You should have," Beth said storming out. Violet almost cried out for her to stay, but with any luck Beth would bring back Hershel. All Violet could hope for was that Carol would be too worried about them coming back to continue to torcher her.

Carol waited for Beth to leave before turning back to Violet. "This is our little secret," Carol said, almost with a laugh, "I will be back. But you should get some sleep now."

Carol walked out the door and a few moments later Beth and Hershel hurried into the room. Hershel stopped and looked around for Carol while Beth hurried to Violet's bed side. She quickly undid the restraints that she could, but left the handcuffs for lack of a key. "I'm sorry," Beth said quietly as Hershel walked over, "I don't have the key."

Violet nodded once and turned over onto her side without even looking at either of them. Hershel placed his hand on her shoulder and she didn't even respond. "I'm just going to check you over."

Violet didn't even nod this time, and slowly Hershel began to look her over. He saw the redness around some of her injuries, but he couldn't tell if it was from some else, or because she had pulled them loose with her struggling. He cleaned them as carefully as he could, but he noticed she wasn't even pulling away from his touch any more. And he knew that the injuries were hurting her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her hoping for some sort of response. When she didn't so much as shrug he sighed and thought the worse as he stood. He walked to his youngest daughter and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Stay with her," he said, "I'm going to talk to Rick." Beth nodded and took her place in the chair next to Violet.

Beth tried to talk to Violet, just to get her to smile or even just look at her. But Violet's eyes were trained on the floor, the most she did was blink. After a little while Beth gave up and tried to sing a little just to kill the silence.

Beth finished three songs by the time Hershel came back into the room. Rick followed closely behind him. "Are you sure she's ok?" Rick asked and Hershel looked at him as if he was going to scold him. Rick sighed and nodded as he pulled the key out and undid the cuffs. Immediately she pulled her hand to her chest and tried to rub some feeling back into it without making the cuts there begin to bleed again. "Are you alright?" Hershel tried again and Violet finally made eye contact with him.

Other than looking at him, she didn't respond. Instead she stood up so quickly Rick put his hand on his gun. "Stop," Hershel said holding his hand up to Rick. Rick eased his hand away and watched as Violet watched him carefully. She picked up some clean day clothes from the floor and walked out of the cell and away from everyone.

"Stop Rick," Hershel's voice echoed down the hall.

"We can't just let her walk around like that," Rick said and she heard his footsteps start to come after her. She was sure they hadn't seen her pull Daryl's knife off the table when she left, if they had they probably wouldn't want to chase after her so hot headed. "Haven't you done enough?" Hershel asked and Rick's foot falls stopped. She didn't stay around to find out how the conversation ended. She hurried out of jail and out to the yard.

She looked around and found one guard tower that looked as if it hadn't been used since they moved in here. She hurried inside and changed into the clothes she had grabbed before making her way up the stairs.

She took her time and when she finally got to the top level she took a deep breath. Her body was still sore from everything, and her head was spinning now. She saw folded chairs leaning against the wall and she took one, opened it up and dusted it off. She placed it where she could still see outside and sat in the chair. She didn't realize until then that she was out of breath. She was tired and she was still weak. She rubbed at her arms and leaned further down into the chair to rest for a moment.

Looking out into the forest she thought about the clearing Daryl took her to. She wondered if she would be able to find it by herself. She wasn't the best at direction, but it hadn't been too far away and she was sure that if she found the water she would be able to find their spot. It wouldn't really matter, she couldn't stay there. It was too open and he would be able to find her too easily.

Actually, he would be able to find her easily if she didn't think of a way to get to solid ground. She knew how he could track and it would be easy for him to find her if she wasn't careful. She had to think of a way.

The sun was setting now and she heard the gates open and then close and some people shouting to draw away the walkers. _Must be Daryl and the group he took back now with my truck._ She totally forgot about her truck. Everything in it. It was all she had left. It was the only way she would be able to survive. _Not live. Survive._ That was the best that she could hope for now.

When she had been brought here, she thought that everything would be different. She would be able to live her life almost, normally. But here she was. Inside these walls, it was almost worse than being out there alone again. Daryl had saved her, but he couldn't protect her from what was in here. These people, they were worse than the walkers.

She rubbed her wrists and listened to some voices that were to faint to make out the actual words. She swore she heard Daryl curse and then it was quiet again. She wondered if he really did care about her for her, or because he brought her home and she was almost like a pet to him. But he couldn't really like her for who she was because he didn't really know her. All he knew of her was that she was a girl who always got herself in trouble and got hurt, and when she was too stressed she use to hurt herself.

Who would want a girl like that…

She shifted in the chair and watched as the sun set under the horizon and the stars started to shine through. This was one thing that she could find comfort in, that she loved to look at every night. The stars. She never saw them where she use to live. There was too much happening. Too many people living in one space. Now, they were all gone, and she could see almost every star in the sky. And as she tried to find familiar constellations, she slipped into sleep.

It didn't take him long to find her. He knew she was up in the tower, but he was still too pissed off at Rick and Carol to be able to talk to Girl rationally, and he didn't want to take his anger out on her. All of those reasons led to why he was pacing around the tower she was sitting in. She hadn't come down yet, and he kept an eye out for any movement upstairs.

When he had found out what had happened, he actually hit Rick. If Hershel wouldn't have been there, and if Glenn wouldn't have pulled him off, he wouldn't have stopped hitting him. Then he wanted to find Carol. He didn't know what he would have done if he went after her, but all the same, he wanted to let Carol know what he thought of her right then. Hershel had talked him out of it though. And he was glad that he had.

Just when he thought things were getting better, shit like this happened. He was still pissed, and everyone was staying away from him, everyone but Carol that is. He cursed under his breath as she walked up. "No," he said and started walking away.

"Daryl please," she said sounding so sad that he couldn't just walk away from her.

"What," he growled out.

"We need to talk," she said walking to his side. She was standing at arms distance, but he could tell that she wasn't afraid of him.

"Ain't nothin' ta talk 'bout," he said eyeing her.

"I think there is," Carol said not letting him walk away from her.

"Ya don't wanta talk ta me right now," he said side stepping her.

"Daryl she could be dangerous," Carol said.

"She ain't," he replied without even turning around.

"She could be."

"She ain't hurtin anyone nd ya and Rick take it among yerselves to fuckin' tie her down? Fuck y'all."

"Daryl," Carol tried again, "Please. Just listen to us."

"Nah," Daryl said and stormed into the tower. Looks like he was ready to face Girl after all.

Daryl made sure Carol didn't follow him inside before he slowly walked up the stairs. It took everything he had not to run up the stairs and make sure that she was ok, so he forced himself to take one step at a time.

When he finally reached the top level he looked around and saw her hunched in a chair. "Hey," he said as he walked over to him. When she didn't respond he stopped walking. Maybe she didn't want to talk to him. Maybe she was done hearing his promises of keeping her safe and she didn't want to talk to him anymore. Maybe she was just done.

All of those thoughts vanished when her one hand slid of her lap and swung loosely by her side. "She's fuckin sleepin," he said to himself with a small smile on his face. At least she was finally able to get some rest. He walked over to stand next to her and his smile fell. Her wrists were still red and raw and when he bent to pick one up she flinched. He made sure she didn't wake up before he looked back to her hand.

Dried blood surrounded her wrist. He could tell from how much there was that Hershel must have cleaned this one up because her other hand had dried blood in streams all over it. He squeezed her hand and she stirred again. This time, she woke up.

She jumped a little when she saw him, but relaxed when she realized it was Daryl. "Yer awake," he said sitting down and leaning against the ground.

She nodded and he frowned. He wanted to hear her voice telling him that she was ok. But instead of talking, she just looked out the window at the night sky and he wondered what was going through her head.

"I didn't know," he said and he looked up at her to see if she understood.

She looked down at him and forced a smile before looking back out the window.

"Can I clean yer hand?" he asked. She looked down as if it was the first time she realized how bad it was and then she held her hand out for him to see. Hershel had given him medical supplies for her and now Daryl was glad. If he couldn't protect her from everything, he at least wanted to help make her feel better.

"Shouldn'tve left ya," he said as he wrapped clean gauze around her wrist.

She looked down at him and tilted her head to the side.

"Should've stayed," he continued, "was goin' ta. Wanted ta make sure they could find it alright. Wanted ya to get some rest too. Maybe ya would've been ok if it was just Beth. Want ya to be ok. Ya don't need me all the time."

Daryl found himself rambling and shut his mouth. This was the reason he didn't talk. She didn't need to know what he thought. And he didn't even know how he felt, so why try to explain it to her. It just made things awkward. So, when he was done taking care of her, he leaned back against the wall and just watched her as she watched the night coming to life in front of her.

"Can we go to our spot tomorrow?" she asked so quietly Daryl thought he might have missed it.

"What?" he asked. He had heard what she said, but he wanted to hear her voice again. Make sure that he wasn't just making it up and that she was really ok.

"Can I sit with you?" she asked and he hesitated for a moment before holding his one hand out to her.

She took his hand and when he moved for her to sit next to him, she surprised him. She crawled into his lap and laid her head on his chest. He didn't know what to do with her sitting like this now. Sure they had been close before, but this just felt different. She took his one hand and pulled it around her so that her back was resting against it, and carefully, Daryl rested his other hand on her knee.

"Can we go back there tomorrow?" she asked again. Daryl rested his chin on top of her head as he breathed in her scent.

"Yeah," he said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear him.

"Good," she said before nuzzling into his chest. Daryl froze and normally she would have tried to talk him into relaxing, but tonight, she just didn't have the energy. Lucky for her though, Daryl knew she needed this. And after a little coaxing from himself he was able to relax enough to where he felt comfortable.

The night was a little chilly, but with them sitting so close together, they didn't feel it. Rory was almost asleep when they heard a noise from below. "Please don't leave Daryl," she said as her fist clenched his shirt and his stomach twisted when she said his name.

"Ain't goin' nowhere," he said when he realized it was just the switching of the people on watch.

"Thank you," she said softly her hand relaxing on his chest.

"Get some sleep girl," he said kissing the top of her head.

"Rory," she mumbled.

"Get some sleep Rory," he smiled.

"G'night, Daryl," she mumbled and he swore he had never heard something more perfect.

**(A/N- So here's the thing, I didn't mean to leave you all hanging for so long. I had the next chapter finished and was going to post it the next day, but my computer decided to crap out and for that I must apologize. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though and you don't hate me too much from last time. Special thanks to;**

**Shayde**

**Jazica**

**Celia azul – I totally agree!**

**Corina27 – He'll get there, he's not use to this.**

**Purple Dragon Ranger – Thank you!**

**Katarzyna88gb – Sorry to say she won't die, but don't worry things will change very soon.**

**DanathaKettu – Sorry she didn't get slapped! But things always have a way of coming around! She just comes off as the lady that would do ANYTHING to 'protect' the people she loves and she sometimes doesn't think things through as good as she should. Glad you're here and still loving the story.**

**Zaii – thanks! (blushes) I know but I can't see Daryl jumping into something where he has to be emotionally involved. **

**AllieKat21 – hahah agreed!**

**Salice89 **

**Xoxobeautiful NightmareXoxo – you stole my name! I use to use this everywhere lmao! Than you!**

**Sevvus – Yay! Thank you! It's going as good as can be expected! Sorry it took so long… haha just keep reading I don't think I'll let you down. (I hope.)**

**Very Bad Witch **

**DarknessMakesMeSmile **

**Icecoatedsha – sorry! I didn't mean to! **

**Persephone A. Black**

**And Guest! Lol**

**Thank you so much and I hope to hear some more awesome reviews.)**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

When Daryl woke up he moved to clear the crick in his neck and he found that his girl wasn't next to him anymore. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the morning light and when he turned his head he found that she was standing a few feet away taking in the view.

"It's beautiful," she almost whispered as she looked at the sun rising over the forest, "Sometimes when I see things like this, I forget what's really out there."

Daryl stood up and walked over to where she was standing. He looked out with her at the sun, and while he did agree that it looked nice, he didn't think it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. In fact, he had thought the same thing she did while he had been out hunting a time or two. He would get so wrapped up in the thrill of the hunt and being out in the forest by himself, that he forget about the dead until one stumbled across his path.

"There's not a lot of 'em out there today," he said looking down to the gates and wondering if he would be able to get away with her today.

"It's not really the dead that I'm afraid of anymore," she said without looking at him.

"I didn't know they would do tha'," Daryl tried to explain, he wanted to make sure she knew he had nothing to do with tying her down.

"Daryl," she said stopping him before he went any further, "I know."

He studied her for a long moment before nodding and looking back out, this time he looked at the forest instead of at the dead that were growling and trying to fight their way into the prison.

"Can we go there today?" she asked after a long moment of silence. Her voice was so quite he wasn't sure she had actually spoken. He turned to look at her and found her bright purple eyes looking up at him with a sad smile on her face. Something wasn't right with her, and he figured that it was because of what happened yesterday. "When," he said instead of asking. They were going, he just wanted to know when she was ready. He had already planned on trying to get her out of the prison for a little while, but knowing that she wanted to leave, he was leaving no matter what.

Maybe they would stay out there for the night, or maybe just a few hours. He didn't really care, he just wanted to make up for leaving her. "I was hoping that we could take my truck?" she asked turning her eyes away and looking back to catch the last of the sun rising, "I have some things in it I don't want to sort out, and I just want to leave as soon as we can."

"Yeah," Daryl said, even though he wanted to go on foot, "I'll go get the keys. Stayin' here?" he asked walking towards the stairs.

She nodded without looking back at him and he watched her for another moment. He took in the way her hair was almost glowing around her, the way it hung down around her small frame. The darkness of it making her skin glow with the light of the sun hitting her. Then she turned her head to look at him and her eyes sparkled. The purple of her eyes still caught him off guard every time she looked at him. Her pale pink lips looked so soft he wanted nothing more than to run his finger over them and kiss them. He knew he wanted her, wanted her bad. And the more he accepted it, the less he hated himself.

She wasn't a defenseless damaged little girl. He had seen what she could do. And while she was hurt, and while she was still recovering, she was still strong enough to keep up with him when he pushed her as hard as he had. She was strong and she wasn't hiding herself because she was scared. She was hiding herself because she was feral and she didn't want to have to hurt the people that were helping her if she could help it. All it would take was one touch, and she would strike out. She would defend herself, and that helped him to see that he wasn't hurting anyone by wanting her. Especially if he only admitted it to himself and didn't act on it.

He nodded his head to her and her lips tugged up into what other people would call a smile. But Daryl knew better. She was hiding something, and he knew that if he could get her away from here, she would talk to him and he could help her. He would help her. He had to. And with that he left her alone in her tower.

She turned after he disappeared outside and listened until he closed the door behind him before she turned to look back out over the forest. She thought about everything that was out there and the people that were wondering around the forest or were looking at the forest just like her. She wondered if they had ever done anything to hurt someone the way she had been hurt in the last few days. She wondered if the people that have had reasons just as Carol did. Rory did not agree with Carol's reasons, but she understood that what Carol was doing what she thought was right to protect the people that she cared about.

She thought about the man that had attacked her here and she wondered where he was right now. If he was out there wondering the woods she felt so safe in, or if he was somewhere in the prison locked where he couldn't touch her.

She thought about the men that had hurt her to the point where she prayed for death to take her. She knew that Daryl had gone out looking for them and didn't find them. But that didn't mean that they weren't close again. Would they find her? Would they kill her this time? She hoped that if they did, they would kill her.

Then she thought about Daryl. She thought about how he had looked to her that day that he had found her. She thought about how he took care of her and was there with her when she had needed and wanted him to be. She knew that at times he was uncertain or had no clue what to do, but he did good. Sure things had happened to her when he wasn't there, but he couldn't have been there all the time. She had tried to protect herself, but she was still healing and didn't have all of her strength back yet. He knew that too and she hoped he didn't take any of that too hard.

Then she thought about what would happen when he realized she was gone. Would he miss her? Would he be mad or hurt? _'Well yeah he's going to be pissed off. He put all this effort into comforting me and all the resources into making me better and I'm just going to take off? He was going to be pissed he put the time and effort into helping someone just for me to take off,'_ she thought to herself. Briefly she wondered if he would be sad because he felt something for her, but she brushed it off thinking that any feelings he had for her would disappear after a little time. She also wondered for a moment if he would spend much time looking for her.

She knew that he would look for her, but she figured that after he figured out she left on her own and wasn't snatched up, that he would stop looking for her.

"Girl," she heard Daryl call for her from the bottom of the stairs. She didn't respond to him, but he knew she heard him when a moment later he heard her feet padding down the stairs. "Ready?" he asked looking at her pajamas she was still wearing. She nodded her head and they both turned and walked to the gates where the truck was ready and waiting for them.

They didn't say anything until they were far enough away from the prison that they couldn't see it anymore. "Want one?" Daryl asked holding a lighter and a cigarette in one hand that was extended towards her.

She nodded and slipped them from his hand. Their skin touched for a moment and she quickly removed her hand from his. The warmth that had spread through her had shocked her and she rubbed her hand unconsciously on her pant leg. "I put some of yer clothes in the back seat," he said lighting his and taking a deep breath before finishing his thought, "Figure ya'd want to change."

"Thanks," she said and slipped into the back seat before lighting up herself. He tilted the mirror up and she smiled thinking about how gentlemanly he was without even trying. She knew he wouldn't describe himself that way, but that's what she saw in him. Shaking her head and trying not to think too much of it, she slipped into her real clothes and almost sighed at the feeling of being back in _her _clothes again. When she climbed back up front he shifted the mirror again and she lit up.

They hadn't gone very far when he parked the truck between some trees and got out locking the doors behind them. She followed him into the forest and they walked in silence until they came upon their little spot.

She smiled and Daryl caught it out of the corner of his eye. That was the first real smile he had seen on her face since he had seen her the day before. "Food?" he asked sitting himself down on a log that he rolled over by the edge of the water.

"Please," she said sitting on the ground across from him. He saw that being outside was doing great things for her. The color had already returned to her skin and her face practically beamed when they were here. He noticed she didn't look as tiny as she did when he found her, and figured that had to do with the fact that she was healing up so quickly.

"What?" she asked catching him off guard.

"Huh?" he mumbled looking down at his pack as he started to empty it.

"You've been looking at me like that since you found me last night," she said before leaning forward and placing her head between her knees.

"Ya alright?" he asked dropping to his knees in front of her trying to see if she was ok.

"Fine," she said trying to brush him off, "Just a little dizzy."

"Here," he said placing a sandwich in front of her, "ya need ta eat."

"Yes dad," she said with a small smile on her face. He rolled his eyes and returned to his log with his food.

They ate in silence as they looked around the forest taking in the animals and the sounds. Daryl was thinking about her and how to make sure she was really ok, while Rory was only thinking about how she was going to sneak away from a hunter like Daryl in the middle of the night.

"Daryl," she said softly. Daryl took a minute before responding to her, his name on her lips never failed to make his heart jump. "Yeah," he said chewing his food.

"Can we stay here tonight?" she asked pulling her knees up and resting her arms on them and her head on her arms.

"Ya don't wanta go back to the prison?" he asked, he didn't really care if they stayed out here for the night, he just wanted her to talk to him.

"No," she said honestly, "I just need a little time."

"K," he said and she was a little thrown off by how easy it was.

"You don't have to go back?" she asked turning to look at him.

"I can stay out 'ere a night. Ain't nobody's baby sitter," he said a little gruffly.

"I suppose you're right," she said and gave him a smile before looking back over the water.

She really did love this place, and she really did enjoy spending time with Daryl. But there was no way that she was ever going back to that prison.

Daryl knew something was up the minute she asked if they could stay the night. She knew that they could make it back on foot to the prison before night and he hadn't even offered to stay out here with her. She had thought of it. And to top it off, she had almost acted surprised, like he agreed to easily with staying out here. He didn't know what was going on in that girl's head, but he was going to find out. One way or another.

Again, they sat there in silence. Neither knowing what to say, but neither really feeling awkward for the silence. They just sat there, enjoying each other's company and the sounds and life of nature. Allowing themselves to forget, if only for a moment, that the world wasn't as messed up, and as terrifying as it really was.

If only for a moment.

**(A/N – Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. Honestly they are the kick in the ass to keep me writing. Just when I'm thinking about not writing another chapter, I see a review and I get so excited. You guys are what keeps me going! Special thanks to: **

**Purple Dragon Ranger**

**Sevvus - haha I love your review!**

**Onetflixme0 **

**xAmandaxXxPandax**

**Corina27**

**NOTagentsofnothing420**

**Danathakettu**

**AllieKat21 – I hope your move went well! Some of my family have been thinking about moving to Florida! I hope your things get there soon!**

**Thank you all so much and I can't wait to hear from you again!)**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

When both had their fill of taking in the peacefulness of their little spot, Daryl offered to take her hunting. The moment that she heard they were going hunting her eyes brightened a little and Daryl almost smiled at how much she looked like a child then.

When they started the hunt into the woods Daryl was a head of her, however after a few minutes he let Rory take the lead. "I don't know what to do," she said pouting.

"Use yer brain," Daryl said with a smirk, "I'm right behind ya."

"Fine," she grumbled trying to remember all the little bits of information Daryl had given her about hunting. He didn't talk a lot, but she studied him and had followed his movements from the other day as if they were one body. Daryl had really been impressed at how quiet and fluidly she moved through the trees.

Suddenly she stopped and pointed to a tree. She looked back at Daryl and he gave her one short quick nod before she turned back and started looking for more markings of the deer that left the scratches on the tree.

It wasn't long before the found the deer that she had been tracking. Daryl had watched Rory carefully as she tracked the animal, every time he thought that she was going to go off in the direction, she quickly corrected herself. Daryl was proud at how easy this was all coming to her and he was curious as to why this was so easy for her. Most people took months to get this far, and that was if they hunted every day or at least several times a week.

Daryl put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her when she started reaching to ready his crossbow he had let her borrow for the hunt. "What?" she whispered, careful not to scare off the deer.

"Don' shoot it," he said taking the crossbow back.

"Why?" she asked a little annoyed they had followed the tracks for as long as they did to just not kill it.

"We don't need all that meat, nd if ya kill it now we ain't gonna get it back ta the prison tomorrow."

"Guess you're right," she said sighing. She had wanted to feel the thrill of the kill. She wanted to take out some of the anger she had locked up from the attacks at the prison. She didn't want to hurt Daryl or anyone that had helped her at the prison, but she needed to do something soon. She knew she was going to snap soon, she could feel the tension in her body. It was making her feel trapped and like she was going to explode. It felt like the air before a lightning storm. The air around her seemed to crackle and the small hairs on the back of her neck and arms felt like they were standing up from the charge. All it would take is the wrong touch and she was sure her body would explode.

Daryl felt it too as they walked together, the charge in her body making him even feel on edge. He was fighting to keep his fists from balling up because they were tingling to be used to smash something in. Being around her when she was like this almost felt like a high for him, he wanted to fight and kill. But he knew that wouldn't help anything, he needed to get her uncharged and fast before they both erupted into a terrifying storm that could kill anything that got into their path.

They watched the deer for a little while longer, neither sitting nor holding still. Daryl watched as she constantly shifted feet and wrung her hands together. At the same time, Rory could see Daryl out of the corner of her eye as he chewed on the skin on his thumb and hid behind his hair. He was leaning against a tree, but nothing about his body language said that that he was relaxed.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore and she bent down and picked up a rock the size of her palm and whipped it at the deer. It didn't quite make it, but the deer took off like a bullet the moment the rock bounced off a tree and landed a foot or so away.

Daryl looked at her with one raised eye brown and she crossed her arms over her chest as if the challenge him. He shook his head and took his crossbow back from her before pushing himself off the tree and walking the opposite way of the deer.

Rory huffed out a breath and followed behind him. Daryl moved slowly through the forest doing his best to make sure that she didn't over exert herself. When he noticed she was falling behind he made a point to stop and look around for signs of animal tracks until she caught up to him. He hoped that she didn't notice he was doing it because he didn't want her to think that he thought she was weak, he knew that it would only piss her off.

But Rory was catching on, she started paying more attention to the animal tracks around her when she started noticing how often Daryl was stopping, and she noticed that it was only long enough for her to catch up, then he was moving again.

"What are you doing?" she finally huffed out when she caught up to him again. He raised an eye brow to her and started walking without saying a word.

"Don't act all innocent," she snapped at him. He felt another current of electricity jolt through his body and he almost stopped walking.

"Daryl," she said louder and stopped following him. He turned around, his hands tight on the strap of his cross bow to the point his knuckles were turning white.

"Look at me," she said and his cold blue eyes met her steely purple eyes. The electricity between them was almost visible as neither moved or open their mouths to say anything.

After what felt like an eternity of silence Rory took a breath and said, "Why do you keep stopping?"

"Lookin at tracks," he almost growled. Things were not going well and he knew he needed to get both of them to calm down, but he just couldn't get his body to agree with the sane part of his brain. His body was itching for a fight and he could sense the same thing in her too.

"Bull shit," she snapped, "I've seen three sets of track going off in different directions. And those are just the ones I've seen. We aren't following anything!"

"What do ya know," he said brushing her off and turning around and walking away from her, "Should be getting back ta the camp soon anyway."

"Hey!" he heard her hurry after him and knew she was going to grab him before he even felt her hand on his arm. Her nails dug slightly into his skin as she stopped him and tried to spin him around. Daryl spun and his hand caught her wrist and held her hand up inches away from him. "Let go," she hissed and Daryl's fingers tightened slightly on her.

"What," she demanded when he didn't say anything to her. He knew he shouldn't be holding onto her like this. But he couldn't stop himself. "Ya wanted ta talk," he said stepping forward so his was inches from her face, "What."

"Let me go," she said and Daryl saw her other hand twitch at her side.

"No," he growled at her, "What's with the fuckin' attitude."

"I don't have an attitude," she hissed and tried to yank her hand free. But she was going nowhere. Yet she wasn't afraid. When anyone at the prison had laid a hand on her she felt like she was trapped and she needed to do anything to get away from them, but right now, she just wanted to fight. She didn't want to run away and fight only if she had to. She was done running and she was itching for this confrontation, because she knew that he would never really hurt her.

"The fuck ya don't," he said and she could feel his breath on her face.

"Let me go," she hissed once more. When he didn't drop her hand she brought her other hand up to slap him. She thought that she had been pretty good about it, but he caught her other wrist in his free hand and tightened his grip on both wrists. "You're hurting me," she growled at him.

"No I ain't," he said and she knew that he wasn't even trying hard to hold her but she still wasn't strong enough to pull away from him.

"Let go!" she yelled at him and he pushed her back and she almost tripped over her own feet. He walked her backwards until her back was against a tree and she felt the bark scrape at her. "What are you doing," she demanded.

"I'm tryin' ta make sure ya don't get yaself killed," he growled at her. She huffed at him and rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm a big girl Daryl," she said and glared at him.

"Ya?" he laughed only pissing her off more.

"Ya," she spat at him.

"Then ya think ya can go five minutes without almost killing yaself?"

"Fuck you," she hissed and she tried to yank herself free again.

"Fuck me?" he laughed and she stopped struggling when she heard his tone, "Trust me girl, you don't wanta fuck me. I'd turn ya over ma knee and spank yer ass until that mouth of yers got a lot sweeter. I'd spank that sass right outa ya. Then if ya asked me real nice, maybe I'd fuck ya."

She swallowed hard and felt the blood drain from her face but at the same time she felt wetness pool between her legs. Daryl watched her carefully after the words left his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that. It was supposed to stay in his head, but when he got this aggravated his mouth lost it's filter. And now that the words were out in the open, he watched for any fear that might show in her eyes.

Right as he started to worry that he had really gone too far and fucked up whatever trust she had in him, he saw her pink tongue dart out and wet her lips before she swallowed.

"You wouldn't dare," she said a little hoarsely.

"Don't tempt me," he said moving so close that she could smell the stale cigarettes on his breath and the sweat that was dripping down the sides of his face from his hair.

"You don't," she started, but before she could finish her thought, he pulled her hands up above her head, pinning them to the tree as his lips crashed down onto hers.

Her first instinct was to pull away, but then she allowed herself to relax and let her body take over. She matched his brutal pace and soon felt his teeth nipping at her bottom lip. She moaned and opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth. But not without a fight.

Daryl did when and soon he was tasting and mapping out every inch of her mouth his tongue could reach. When he pulled back a little and bit at her lip again she moaned and he ground his hips into hers pushing her back harder onto the tree. She tried not to whimper as the bark scrapped at her skin, and she leaned her head forward and kissed him harder nipping at his lip when she got the chance. Daryl pulled his mouth away from hers, both of them panting for air before Daryl dipped his head down into the crook of her neck and nibbled, kissed and licked on the skin there.

Rory was trying to catch her breath and finally had the strength to pull her hands free of his. Immediately they went to the back of his head and yanked at his hair to pull his mouth back up to hers. He growled at the tinge of pain before kissing her back and running his hands down her arms to her sides and then down to her thighs.

Without warning her wrapped his hands around her thighs and yanked her legs up so that they wrapped around his hips and he ground himself against her making her throw her head back against the tree and moan as his hardened budge rubbed against her over sensitive center. He growled against her mouth as she rotated her hips against him.

All he wanted was to rip her clothing off and fuck her against this tree. He pulled away for a second to breath and she kissed her way down his jaw and down to his neck where she bit down almost hard enough to draw blood. "Fuck!" he growled at her and bucked his hips into her to try and get more friction.

This time she couldn't help the whimper that escaped her lips as the tree rubbed against one of her injuries. Daryl froze up and pried her legs off of him. "What?" she gasped as her feet hit the ground.

"Turn around," he growled at her.

"Why?" she asked still trying to breathe.

"Let me see yer back," he said grabbing her arm and turning her. His breath caught in his throat the moment that he saw her shirt was sticking to her back. He knew there was no way that sweat was making it stick that bad. "Daryl," she tried her voice still shaky, "I'm ok."

He slowly peeled up her shirt and he thought he was going to be sick. Her bandages on her cuts had almost been torn off and they were raw and bleeding. The sweat mixed with the blood was dripping down her back and staining her clothes. "Like hell ya are," he said and looked at the new scratches that had formed on his back from the tree.

"I'm ok," she said tugging away from him and pulling her shirt back down to cover her back. This time she felt the sting of where the blood and sweat mixed in her wounds. "I hurt ya," he said as his stomach lurched at the slight pain on her face when she pulled her shirt back down. "Daryl," she started but he pulled away from her.

"Let's go," he said walking away from her. He was so disgusted in himself that he had even touched her like that. Not only did he brake his promise to himself that he wouldn't touch her unless she asked him too, but he hurt her. He actually hurt her, he promised to keep her safe and he was the one that physically hurt her this time. It seemed that no matter what he did, he was always fucking up and hurting her.

Rory on the other hand leaned back against the tree and tried to steady herself. All the lack of air with her head injury just made her head spin. And now Daryl was walking away from her after what had just happened, she didn't know what to do. She had been enjoying it, she needed his touch, and now he was running away from her. She hadn't wanted him to stop. It didn't even really hurt that bad, it just stung. The injuries weren't from him, they were old, but they were still healing, so he should have known that anything that bothered them was going to make them open up.

She was actually surprise how easy it was for him to touch her. She wasn't sure that she would have been able to let someone else touch her the way he had so soon after the things that had just happened, but she wasn't afraid of him when it happened. She welcomed it. She needed it She hadn't realized it until that moment. But she needed him to touch her like that and erase the memories from the other men.

She didn't understand why this was such a big deal for him and she didn't know how to make this better. Or even if she should. Why should she try to fix something when she wasn't even going to be around him for much longer.

With that thought in her head, she hurried to catch up to him as he led the way back to their camp area. She trailed behind him but never to the point where she couldn't see him, but far enough away where they didn't talk to each other because they would have to yell to be heard.

**(A/N – Thank you for all of the reviews! Thank you for sticking with the story and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Special thanks to: **

**NOTagentsofnothing420**

**Sevvus – Thank you so much! Your reviews always make me smile and laugh! That makes sense why she does the laundry now!**

**xAmandaxXxPandax**

**AllieKat21**

**Steph**

**Corina27**

**Danathakettu – You know I could never end the story like that! She won't be gone forever…if she does leave! Will she even leave! Who knows?!**

**Thank you and I hope to hear more of your lovely reviews!)**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

On the way back to the camp Daryl shot and killed two rabbits and a squirrel, but when they got back Daryl through them on the ground and started a fire before telling Rory to stay here he would be back in a while. Then he was gone. She didn't know when he was going to be coming back, and she was still had a buzz from the electricity that was flowing through her earlier, and now she had the extra charge from whatever had happened with Daryl earlier.

Sighing she looked around the small area and decided that Daryl went for a walk to get rid of the same energy that she was feeling now and he wouldn't be back for a long while. But she also knew that he wouldn't leave her out her alone, and that he would stay close in case anything came around that would put her in danger. Knowing that, she decided that she would clean up.

She walked over to the water side and took off her socks and shoes before dipping in the toes of one foot and shivering a little bit. The water was a bit chillier than she hoped it would be but she knew that she needed to clean up, so without thinking about it too much she pulled the towel out of Daryl's pack he'd left behind for her and spread it out next to the water.

She took her socks and balled them up before shoving them into her socks and then stripped down to her underwear and bra. She didn't want to risk falling, so instead of jumping in and getting the cold part out of the way, she slowly stepped into the water and shivered as goose bumps covered her body. She waited for a moment and the warm sun heated up her body enough to where the cool water started to feel good and she sunk down to sit in the water.

When the water reached the first cut of her back, she winced and moved her hand to see how bad the damage was. But before she could even bring her hand back to exam it, the water that came from behind her turned a light pink and then almost red as she sunk down further into the water. She sighed and wondered if she was ever going to heal fully.

Deciding that she was going to stay in the water a little longer than just to clean her back, she turned and picked her shirt up off the ground and started dunking it in the water. She was shocked by how much blood she was able to get out of the shirt and just to make sure it was all out, she picked out some rocks out of the bed of the stream and used them to help her clean her shirt. Almost as if she was using a washing board, she worked the shirt until the water was clear.

When she was done, she wrung out the shirt and moved over to the side of the stream where there were larger rocks and she propped her back on a smoother one. The pressure on the cuts was not pleasant, but once she got use to the feeling, she sighed and relaxed.

Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift, and as she knew it would, it went to Daryl. Her body broke out in chills again, but this time it wasn't the water. And no matter how warm the sun was, they weren't going to go away right now. She sighed again, this time with more aggravation because she was still all wound up from the encounter.

Without even really noticing what she was doing, her hand had drifted to her upper stomach and her fingers were drawing small wet circles on the exposed skin. She opened her eyes and looked around to make sure that she was alone, and even though she knew it was stupid, she needed to release some tension that Daryl had added to her stress level.

She dipped her hand into the water and held it above her chest and let small cold water droplets drip onto her heated skin. She dripped them down her chest and they ran down to where her bra started. She thought about removing the article, but thought better of it and continued on. Slowly, she moved her hand so that she was drawing small circles down her body. Her eyes drifted shut and she tilted her head back when she reached her pantie line.

She imagined Daryl's hand undoing the button on her jeans and slipping his hand to where her hand was now. His calloused fingers working over her soft flesh made her skin prickle with more goose bumps and she moved her hand lower and her body actually jolted a little bit when her finger tips brushed her clit before she slowly started to rub it with two fingers letting out a low breathy moan.

When Daryl had walked off, he had planned on being gone until the sun set, but when he had gotten further into the forest, he realized he had forgotten his bag, and if he was going to go far he needed some things out of it. He hadn't grabbed it before when they had gone on their walk because he knew they weren't going to go far, but right now, all he had on him was his bow.

The small trip back to camp he thought about what she was going to say when she saw him back. He expected that she was either going to yell at him, or ignore him. Neither he really wanted to experience. So he stayed in the tree line and waited to see when was going to be the best time to grab his things. What he didn't expect was to find her half naked in the water.

He stopped cold in his tracks when he heard her moan. For a moment he thought she was in pain, then he realized that her one hand was dipped below the water and between her knees which were parted just above the surface. He knew he shouldn't be watching, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from her. He swallowed hard when her body jolted and suddenly his pants became too tight. He shifted and tried to readjust himself but from where he was standing, he could practically see all of her.

He let his gaze drift over her, her head was thrown back and her hair splayed out behind her. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her mouth was just slightly parted. Her tattoos looked brighter compared to her paler skin and he wished he was close enough to make out what they were. His eyes continued to scan down her body until the water cut off his sight. He almost cursed because the water was blocking him from what he really wanted to see. But then he looked back up to her face in time for her to let out a small moan and then her tongue darted out and licked her lips.

Daryl fought back a groan as he pictured her tongue licking other things. He tried to shift himself in his pants again to try to relieve the straining but when his hand touched himself his hips bucked forward on their own and he let out a low growl. He rubbed himself once through his pants before he decided he needed more then that.

As her hand moved around in the water he thought about how soft her hand were when they she had touched them. As he undid his button on his pants and the belt he thought about her licking her lips, and how soft and perfect her lips where. When he yanked his zipper open he thought about where he really wanted her lips. And as he closed his hand around himself he imagined it was her.

With her eyes closed she could picture Daryl perfectly. It almost felt like he was really there with her. In her mind, she was leaning back against his herd warm chest and she could feel how excited he was for her as something hard pressed into her lower back. His rough fingers made small circles around her most sensitive areas making her back arch away from him. "Faster," she whimpered, not realizing she had said it aloud. Her fingers moved faster and slowly dipped inside her and she was trying to hold in her moans, or at least make sure they were quiet. She pictured Daryl's fingers slowly moving inside of her and teasing her until she begged him to move faster and then he would plunge them deep inside of her, her hips grinding against his hand trying to get more friction where she needed it.

She was getting close. And so was Daryl. The show he was getting had him biting the inside of his cheek to keep from growling or moaning out to loud. So far he did ok. His hand pumped at the same rhythm he could see her arm moving, and each moan she let out had him bucking his hips into his hand. But in his mind, it wasn't his hand that was giving him pleasure. It was her. Her hands and her mouth. That was what he wished he could have, but this would work for now.

She was almost there. She was balanced on the edge and she wished Daryl was really there so that he could send her spiraling over the edge into bliss. But she did her best just imagining the things he would do to her. And then, with one more thrust inside of her, and one more perfect rub to her clit, her body exploded. She moaned out Daryl's name as her toes curled and her legs straightened and her back arched almost completely off the rock. She continued to slowly move her fingers until she completely came back down to earth. And then she bolted up right and her cheeks burnt red as she realized she had called out his name when she came. Her hand came to her chest as she looked around quickly and was thankful that he wasn't there.

He had realized that she was close when her body arched a little higher from the rock. And he wondered what it would feel like if she was around him when she did come apart. Then as he stroked himself faster, keeping up with her rhythm she jolted and moaned out his name and it sent him over. He thrust forward hard one more time, then several sporadic thrusts as he emptied himself onto the ground and partially on the tree in front of him.

It took him a moment to regain his breath and to calm his heart down before he cleaned himself up and redid his pants. Then he froze. She had called out his name. He was certain he hadn't imagined it. And from the way he saw her bolt up, he knew she realized it too. He quickly stepped a little farther back into the trees so that when she looked around she wouldn't see him as he tried to figure out what her saying his name meant.

She looked around feeling panicked that somebody could have heard her. But after a moment she took a breath and calmed down realizing that nobody was around she felt a bit silly. She took a few moments to calm down her heart before slowly getting up and getting out of the water. She felt much better than she had before and now that she had time to calm down, she truly felt bad and embarrassed for what she had said to Daryl.

She dug out new clothes and after drying off she got dressed. She kept finding herself looking around for Daryl, hoping that he would come back so that she could talk to him. Every time she heard something rustle the leaves, or she heard a twig snap, her heart sped up expecting Daryl. But when it wasn't him, her heart sank to her stomach.

After about the hundredth time of her searching for him in the shadows of the trees, she threw herself down on the ground and huffed. She was acting like a love sick teenager waiting for him like this. She didn't even know what she was going to say to him when he did come back. She kicked out her foot and dig a hole in the ground with her bare feet. She had always loved how the ground felt under her feet and she never use to wear shoes. But these day, she almost never sat around without her shoes on in fear that she would have to leave quickly and be on the run again. But here, she felt safe enough to relax, even when she was alone.

She looked up and sighed after her toes had pulled up the grass she had been playing with and looked over at the fire that was now finally dying out. She stood up and grabbed some of the wood they had put aside earlier and tended to the fire. As she poked at the embers she thought about what she could do for Daryl to say sorry, and to say good bye. She refused to leave him on a bad note.

Daryl didn't go far from their camp, but at the same time, he didn't go so close she would see him either. There was no way he could face her right now. He had released some of his pent up energy when he had been watching her, but the long he was away from her, the more anxious he got. He had come close to going back and confronting her, but each time he got close, he decided against it and had left again.

Now, he was pacing back and forth and grumbling to himself. He had taken out several walkers as he walked around the camp, but now that he was out of walkers to kill, he was getting frustrated again. Suddenly he turned and slammed his fist into a tree. "Fuck," he grumbled pulling his hand back to his chest. He didn't check it out, he already knew the skin was broken, and the blood on the tree told him that the cuts were deeper than he had thought. Sighing, he looked to the setting sun and knew he needed to get back. He wiped his hand on his jeans and started back to the camp.

He hadn't gone far when he smelled something that made his mouth water. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he had smelt something cooking. He picked up his pace and was back at the camp in half the time that he had planned.

She was squatting down by the fire with her back to him and she didn't move as he walked closer. He forced the memory from earlier deep into the back of his mind as he took in her form as she bent over the fire. "What's that," he grunted making her jump a little.

"Dinner," she said softly turning her head to smile up at him, "sorry about earlier."

"Hnn," Daryl said before walking over to his pack and pulling out the tarp he had packed. He wanted to talk to her and tell her he was sorry too. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. So instead, he started setting up a spot for them to sleep tonight. He checked the ground before he laid out her sleeping bag to make sure that she wouldn't be sleeping on any rocks before laying down the pillow and blanket.

He had used the rocks and trees to set up the tarp, and after he had tied everything up, it was hardly noticeable in the dark. He had made a door out of a separate tarp and had moved another rock out of the way in the back so they could crawl out the back if they really needed to. It was dark in the tent, even with the light that was still out, but he wanted to make sure that they were going to be safe tonight. He just hoped that she would be comfortable sleeping next to him still.

When he exited their make shift tent she was dishing out their food onto plates he didn't realize they had. She had set out some water bottles and spread out a blanket before she set the food down on it. She smiled up at him when he walked over to her and she waited until he got to the blanket before she knelt down and picked up her plate. He hadn't said anything to her yet, and she didn't try to make him. She could tell that he was sorry but she knew that if he did say it, it was going to be hard for him.

The sun had officially set by the time they were half way through their food. Neither had said anything yet, but just like the other times, it was not an awkward silence. She looked up at the stars as they started to poke through the dark sky. She smiled up, and even though it looked like rain and the clouds blocked some of the stars, it was still beautiful. She couldn't remember the last time, in her life before this, that she could ever see this many stars.

While she was looking up at the sky, Daryl was studying her. His eyes had adjusted to the dark as the sun had set and the light from the stars lit up her face. In that moment, he thought she was perfect. He wasn't thinking of what he had stumbled on that afternoon. He wasn't thinking of her scars or her new injuries. He wasn't thinking of how she still shut herself off from everyone else. Instead he was thinking of how the starlight shown in her hair. How the light made her purple eyes sparkle and shine as if the stars got their light from her eyes. Her pale skin looked like flawless porcelain and he just wanted to reach out and touch her.

But, he would never actually admit it. Not even to himself. While he sat there and admired her, he pushed those thoughts into the back of his mind and just studied her.

"Beautiful, right?" she said snapping Daryl out of the trance he was in.

"Huh?" he asked looking away from her thinking he had been caught.

"The stars," she said looking over to him. He met her eyes with his and nodded before looking up at the sky. "I never really saw them before all this happened," she said while looking up again, "it was too bright where I lived. Never could see more than a few at a time."

"I saw 'em all the time," Daryl said looking back to her.

"Really?" she asked laying down on her back so her neck wouldn't get stiff.

"Yeah," he said looking at her as she stretched out. That was the first time he realized that she hadn't been wearing shoes, and he was happy that she felt this comfortable around him. Pushing his plate aside, he laid down too. "I think it's good to take time out of this world and take in the positives. Otherwise," she said with a lump in her throat, "it just becomes too much."

Daryl didn't say anything. But he agreed. That was why he loved being out in the woods so much. That was him taking in the positives of the world the way it was now. He let his eyes drift shut and just take in the night.

No sooner had he relaxed did water splash onto his face. His eyes opened when he heard her shift next to him. "Rain," she said holding her hands out as the rain started to come down a little faster.

He sat up and leaned back on his arms as he watched her. Slowly she stood up, and the minute she was on her feet it was as if the gates had opened and the water started pouring down. She laughed and spun around as the rain pelted them.

Daryl couldn't help the grin that spread over his face as he watched her start dancing in the rain. She spun and jumped and splashed in the puddles all while laughing. Daryl actually found himself laughing along with her. She jumped over to him and took his hands in hers. "No way," he said shaking his head.

"Come on!" she laughed and pulled him up. He shook his head no but allowed her to pull him up.

"Don't be such a grouch!" she laughed as lightning lit up the sky. Daryl was knocked breathless for a moment by how beautiful she looked, even when she was soaking wet. "Fine!" she said stomping her foot and splashed him. The water didn't make a big difference, considering he was already soaked. "You're gonna regret that," he growled at her with a smile.

"Oh no," she said in mock fear before she took off running.

When she turned around to see if he was there she didn't see him. Then she felt a warm hand on her skin and it spun her around. She let out a shriek that was covered by a rumble of thunder. Daryl pulled her to his chest and pinned her arms down as she squirmed and laughed and tried to get away. He had to admit that she was hard to hold on to. Then she slipped away from him and she was running again and he was after her.

They played in the rain like children until her foot got caught around his leg and they tumbled to the ground laughing. "Rain I love," she laughed out, "Mud, not so much."

"Come on," he said standing up and pulling her up with him. They walked to the tent he had made and he pulled off his shirts and slid off his shoes and pants letting the rain rinse off the mud they had fallen in. Rory slipped out of her clothes and hung them over some branches before tilting her head up so the rain rinsed off the dirt before she climbed into the tent.

Daryl followed her in and secured the door behind them. Water was still dripping off them as they tried to stay away from the blankets they would be sleeping on. "Daryl?" she called out. There was no light in the tent and she couldn't tell where he was. She took a step forward and felt the heat from his skin before she bumped into him. "Sorry," she said as he caught her.

"Hold still," he said moving around and grabbing a small lamp from his bag. Lighting and setting it down on the far side of the tent he picked up a small towel from her pack and handed it to her. "Thanks," she said smiling and attempted to dry her hair with it. He sat down and watched her as he dried himself off with one of his over shirts.

"I guess that's as good as it's going to get," she said smiling and crawling into the make shift bed and slipping under the blankets. He could tell that she was shivering and he wished he had brought in more blankets. "Daryl?" she called out to him and patted the bed next to her. He sat there for a moment looking at her. He wasn't sure if he trusted himself next to her like this. She on the other hand didn't seem to have a second thought about it. He leaned over and turned off the light before getting into bed next to her.

He laid down on his back and felt her shift until her skin touched his. "How are you so warm?" she asked, her voice barely audible over the rain hitting the tent.

"Always warm," he grunted as went completely still as she took his arm and shifted herself around him. Daryl shivered as her cool skin touched his side. "I'm sorry," she said backing away.

"No," he said holding her to his side, "Yer fine." She nodded and moved a little closer before she was brave enough to place her head on his chest. She listened to his heart beat and soon she was asleep. It took Daryl a moment to relax, but when he did, he couldn't remember the last time he had felt this relaxed. And soon, even Daryl fell asleep.

**(A/N – I'm so sorry that this took forever. I've really been trying to finish this chapter, but things have been so crazy with work and personal life that I'm struggling to find time to write! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that all of my readers are still with me! Because I'm trying to get this chapter up I'm going to do a general thank you! Thank you to everyone who is reading this story, to everyone that's been here from the beginning, and all those who are just starting to read! I love your reviews so please! Keep them coming! Enjoy!)**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

Daryl woke up first to the sound of thunder to find that it was still raining. And there was enough water that the top of their tent was starting to sag. He sat up and shivered from the loss of warmth from Rory. He looked down at her and he could hardly see her outline. She was still curled up on her side the way she had been when they fell asleep but now that he was gone he saw her shiver and curl up into herself more. He leaned down and pulled the blankets up to her chin before he stood and pushed the top of the tarp so that the water ran off the top.

He stayed the way he was for a moment watching her as she slept there. She looked more relaxed than she had since he brought her to the prison. Now that his eyes had fully adjusted he could see how childlike she looked laying there curled into a ball. He wished it could be like this with them all the time. Just her and him in the woods. But he knew that he would miss the people that had become like family to him, and he could never do it.

She shivered again and when a second crash of thunder went off she opened her eyes. At first she couldn't see anything, but then she saw that Daryl was there, watching her. She sat up and pulled the blankets securely around her. "Did I wake you up?" she asked him as he sat back down on their bed.

"No," he said laying back down and pulling some of the blankets onto him. He was happy he had brought more than he thought they were going to need. She was freezing. He picked up his arm and she smiled before scooting over and laying back down next to him. Rory was really surprised that he was allowing this. Usually it was like pulling teeth with him to get him to relax enough to touch her and for him to be able to be touched by her.

"Daryl," she said softly as she laid her hand on his chest.

"Hm," he asked closing his eyes.

"Can I ask you a question?" she immediately felt him tense up. She started tracing random patterns on his skin hoping to calm him down. Eventually he relaxed and circled his arm she was laying on up to hold her shoulder. "What?" he asked then cleared his throat when he heard how rough it sounded.

"Carol," she started and felt him tense up again, "Never mind."

Daryl looked down at her and frowned. He loved Carol, she was like a sister to him. But he could tell by Rory's voice that something was going on and he wanted to know what. He cared about Rory too, and while he wasn't really sure in what way he cared for her, or rather he didn't want to admit it, he still cared. "No, tell me," he said as his fingers moved mindlessly over her shoulder.

"I don't want to start anything," she said and her fingers stilled. His other hand came up and covered the hand that was now resting on his chest.

"Talk," he said as she started moving his fingers again.

"What do you know about her? I mean who is she really?"

"She's…" he started but then stopped. He had no clue how to describe Carol. He knew how he felt about her, but he didn't really know how to put it into words.

"It's just…" she continued, "She came to see me yesterday."

"I know," Daryl said thinking about how they had tied her down, "I told them not to tie you up like that."

"It's not just that Daryl," she said and stilled again. Daryl shifted to try to see her better, but she wouldn't look at him.

"Girl," he said and tilted her chin up with his finger. She looked at him, and while he couldn't see her face, he felt the water from her tears on his finger and he knew she was crying. "What happened?"

'She uh," Rory started, but with a flash of lightning they saw a shadow on the tent of a person.

"The hell?" Daryl mumbled as he stood up right before a walker crashed into the tent. Rory little out a yelp as the tarp fell and covered her and Daryl cursed as he fumbled around for a weapon. With the tarp wrapped around him he could hear the walker trying to tear it's way through the tarp. He had just found one of his knives when he heard Rory call for him. He turned and swore because all he could see was the tarp moving. He couldn't tell which was Rory and which was the walker. "Girl talk to me!" he tried to yell over the storm and the grunts of the walker. "Daryl I can't hold him up any more!" she cried out as her arms started to buckle under the weight of the once human man.

Daryl reached down and grasped the tarp that had been the door and ripped it off exposing the walker but Rory was still under the top of the tarp. He reached down once more and gripped the hair of the dead thing as it clawed at the tarp. But as he pulled on it's hair, the scalp began to peel off. "Son of a bitch," he growled as he lost his balance for a quick minute.

Rory let out a scream as the walker crashed down onto her and it's teeth chomped next to her face. Daryl steadied himself and rammed his body into the walker knocking it off of Rory and onto the ground. It fought back for a moment before Daryl plunged the knife deep into it's head stilling it instantly.

"Daryl?" Rory called out as she fought to get out of the tarp.

"Here," Daryl said helping her crawl out. She stood in front of him in her underwear as he stood in his. The next moment she had her arms wrapped around his neck and she was pressed tightly to his chest. He didn't even hesitate as he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. He had actually thought for a moment that he was going to lose her. "Ya alright?" he said pulling her away and looking over her body to make sure that she wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine," she said looking over him, "You?" He had blood on his, but the rain was quickly washing it away.

"I'm fine," he said and pulled her to him again. They stayed there for a moment while the rain poured over them. Then he remembered what she had been saying. "Tell me what happened with ya and Carol," he said pulling away from her and moving to set up the tent to get them out of the rain. He was happy that only some of what was inside was wet, the tarp had pretty much covered it all. "Don't worry about it," she said moving to help him, "It was stupid."

"Girl," he said looking up at her as he re-tied one edge of the tarp.

"She just let me know how she feels," Rory said without looking up at him.

"What did she say?" Daryl asked starting to worry, he knew Carol didn't really want Rory to be there, but he didn't think that Carol would actually do anything to her.

"Don't worry about it Daryl," she said tying up the other side of the tarp.

"Ya brought it up," he said getting frustrated.

"I shouldn't have," she said regretting even bringing it up.

"No," Daryl said tying up his last corner and picking up the tarp for the door of the tent. Rory finished tying up the last edge and walked around to stand at the front with Daryl as he finished up tying everything down. "Tell me," he finished his sentence when she was standing next to him.

"Daryl, really. It's ok," she said looking away ignoring the rain.

"No," he said making her look at him again, "I know it ain't alright. Tell me."

"I said forget it," she said pulling away from him and walking to pull her clothes off the branches. They weren't going to dry outside any time soon so she decided to bring them in. "Damn it girl!" he said storming after her.

"Just leave it alone Daryl!"

"I ain't!" he said spinning her around to face him.

"Please," she begged all the anger leaving her.

"Just tell me," he said not letting her go.

"She was there when I woke up," she said looking away from him. Lightning flashed across the sky again and illuminated her face. Daryl felt his chest tighten as he waited for the next words to come out of her mouth.

"She just…" Rory stopped for a moment and pulled away from Daryl.

"What?" he asked stepping closer.

"She threatened me Daryl," she said but he could tell she was hiding something from him.

"What else?" he said moving even closer to her.

"Daryl…"

"Just say it!"

"She hurt me!" she cried out and thunder rumbled.

"What?" he said as he rocked back a step.

"You heard me," Rory said turning away from him.

"What did she do?"

"She cut me Daryl," she continued without looking at him, "She threatened me. And she tortured me. She tried to make me talk. She threatened me. She doesn't want me there. And if she wouldn't have been interrupted, I don't know how far she would have gone."

"No," he mumbled.

"Yes Daryl," Rory spun around and yelled at him, "You wanted to know!"

"Why," Daryl said trying to understand. He didn't think Carol could ever do something like that to someone, but he could tell by the look on Rory's face that she was telling the truth.

"I'm not going back," Rory almost whispered.

"What?" Daryl said moving back to her and grasping her shoulders.

"I can't Daryl," she said tears streaming down her face, "I'm not safe there. You can't always be there and when you aren't things happen. I'm not blaming you. I don't expect you to be there for me all the time. But I also don't expect to be threatened by people that are supposed to keep others safe."

"I'll talk to her," he said yelling over the next thunder roll.

"It won't matter," Rory said trying to step away. But Daryl wouldn't let her. "Ya can't just go," Daryl said tightening his grip on her.

"Look at me Daryl," she said gesturing to her body. Her bandages where ruined and started to fall or tear to the point Daryl could see what they were supposed to be covering. "I look worse than I did when I came here!"

"I'll stay with you," Daryl said trying to make her understand that he didn't want her to leave.

"You can't always be there Daryl. She'll kill me if you talk to her. You might think you know her, but you don't really know her. She's dangerous."

"She's…" Daryl started but couldn't actually find the words to finish his sentence.

"Daryl I can't go back," she said walking towards the tent.

She only took a few steps before Daryl realized that he wasn't moving. He turned quickly and spun her around. "You can't leave," he said and he saw her heart break. He knew she wanted to stay, but he didn't know if she wanted to stay somewhere safe or if she wanted to stay for him.

"Why?" she asked tears running down her face even though the rain made it hard to see them.

"I… Just don't go," he said pulling her to him. He didn't know how to tell her, but he didn't want to let her go.

"Daryl," she said not holding him back, "I can't."

"Stay," he said as her hands found his biceps. He pulled away from her and looked into her beautiful amethyst eyes. They didn't say anything as they looked at each other. She didn't pull away and Daryl didn't move any closer. He was never the kind of man who made the first move. However, by his actions today this should be easier. He wasn't the romantic flowers and chocolate guy that he knew most women wanted.

Any women he had been with where women before the outbreak, and they were just drunk one night stands in his truck because he knew Merle was either at home getting high or had a girl of his own. And he could even count the one night stands he had on one hand. But he wanted Rory to know he saw her as his girl and he needed her to say.

Slowly he leaned in and watched as understanding fell over her face. He waited for a moment to make sure that she wasn't afraid. And when he saw that she was ok, he kissed her. It was unsure at first, but she kissed him back and he felt braver and deepened the kiss.

Soon she was nipping at his lower lip and he growled into the kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth and for a moment they battled for dominance until Daryl won. She moved her hands up until she found the hair on the back of Daryl's neck. She scratched her fingers through it for a moment before she tangled her hands into his hair and yanked hard enough to pull his mouth from hers. He growled at her and she kissed down his jaw and onto his neck where she nipped and sucked until he moaned and pulled away from her. She smirked at him and he lowered his head to her neck where he did the same thing to her neck that she had done to his. Her knees went weak and he had to catch her before she fell. "Tent," she muttered into his ear when he pulled her to him.

He growled in response and pushed her into the tent, almost ripping down the door to their tent. They fell onto the bed still dripping wet but neither really cared. She could feel him hard against her thigh and she froze. Daryl felt her go still under him and he pulled away. "What?" he asked but she didn't respond, "Rory?"

She wasn't moving and her breathing started to quicken and he could tell she was close to hyperventilating. "Girl talk to me," he said sitting up and moving off of her.

"Can't… breathe," she gasped and he pulled her to sit up.

"Did I hurt ya?" he asked worried he had done something wrong.

"No," she whispered, "God no."

"Then what?"

"I just… before.." she couldn't finish her sentence. But Daryl understood.

"We ain't gotta do anything," he said.

"No," she said quickly, "I want to. I do." She moved to him and started kissing him again. At first he didn't respond. He was worried that she wasn't ready and he didn't want to hurt her.

"It's ok," she said pulling him back to her. Slowly, he kissed her again and gently pushed her back down, but the moment that his body was on top of hers, she stiffened and started to shut down again.

"No," he said and flipped them over so she was on top of him.

"What?" she asked confused as she came back to the present and out of her past memory on the forest floor.

"You're in charge," he said not touching her.

"But," she started but he took her hand and placed it on his chest. She nodded and hoped that he could see it. She leaned down and kissed him gently and while he kissed her back, he didn't move his hands. "Touch me," she whispered against the side of his face before lowering her lips and kissing his neck.

"Where," he groaned out when she bit him.

"Here," she said taking his hands and placing them on her breasts. He growled as she bit down again and sucks and licked the sensitive skin. He moved his hands over her bra covered chest slowly messaging her at first, then he tweaked her hardened nipples through the bra. "God," she whispered and moved her hands and un-did her bra and threw it to the other side of the tent. He bucked up his hips and she moaned and rotated her hips against his. "Fuck," he groaned out and pinched her harder making her cry out.

"Again," she begged. He growled and tweaked her nipples making her grind her hips down against his again. "God Daryl," she whimpered and kissed him once more before she slid down his body.

"What are ya doin?" he asked before he felt her hands slip under the band of his boxers. "Girl…" he started as her hands moved up his thighs. She smirked up at him and blew lightly on his hardened member. "Fuck," he hissed.

Slowly her hand wrapped around his shaft and started to move slowly up and down making him harder. Slowly she licked from the base to the top where she swirled her tongue over the tip. She heard him grown and slid her lips over his tip and took him deep into her throat. "Jesus!" he hissed and held himself up on his arms to try and watch. But when he hit the back of her throat and she kept taking him in, he flopped backed down and groaned. She suckled and licked him until his fist clenched in the blankets and he was thrusting his hips up into her mouth. "Rory," he grunted out trying to get her attention, but she kept bobbing up and down, only stopping to lick him from base to tip and then take him back into her mouth.

"Girl," he said and fisted her hair to stop her from moving.

"Yes?" she smiled at him.

"Yer gonna make me come if you keep that up," he said and tried to pull her back up to him. She licked the tip of him again and he groaned. "Stop," he said tugging her again, "I don't want to finish in your mouth this time."

"This time?" she giggled and he growled and grabbed her arms before yanking her up. She was sitting on his hips and when she moved to kiss him he shook his head and slid down so she was straddling his face. "Daryl," she started to argue, but when his thumb started to rub her through her soaked panties, she forgot what she was going to say.

His thumb rubbed over her clit before he used his other hand to move her underwear out of the way and licked her making her buck against his face. "Fuck!" she hissed as one of his fingers slipped into her. "Daryl," she whimpered and her fingers tangled into his hair. He started moving his finger faster before adding another and sucking her clit into his mouth.

When she started bucking again his one hand wrapped around her thigh and held her tight to his face. He gently nipped her clit before moving his tongue to follow his fingers. He heard her gasp and removed his fingers so one hand could play with her clit as he moved his tongue in and out of her quivering center. "Daryl I'm gonna," she whimpered and he pinched her clit with his fingers as he swirled his tongue inside of her.

"Daryl!" she cried out as he slipped his thumb into her. She tightened around him and gripped his hair harder as the waves of her orgasm crashed over her. Daryl moved slowly, bring her back down to earth until she relaxed her hold on him.

She sighed and moved down his body and rested her head on his chest. "Ya alright?" he asked her as her hair fell onto his chest and tickled him slightly.

"I'm great," she said sighing again.

"We can stop here," he said rubbing her arms.

"I don't want to stop," she said and rotated her hips onto his.

"Don't do that," he said.

"Why?" she asked twisting her hips again.

"Cause in about two seconds I'ma flip ya over and have my way with you," he growled as his hands gripped her hips and held her still. She smiled and kissed his chin before sitting up and gripped him with one hand while steading herself with her other. "If we're gonna stop," Daryl groaned when he felt his tip brush against her wet center.

"I don't want to stop," she said and slowly moved down his shaft. She flung her head back and moaned and Daryl's fingers dug into her hips while his head tipped back and he let out a growl.

When he was completely inside of her, she let out a breath and let herself adjust before she rotated her hips and let out a loud moan. Daryl was fighting the urge to flip her over and pound her into the ground.

"Girl," he growled, "Ya gotta move." She nodded and started twisting her hips and moving up and down making them both moan louder then they should. Daryl gripped her harder and started to help move her while thrusting up to meet her each time.

"I can't last much longer," she whimpered when he thrust into her harder.

"Touch yerself," he growled as he moved one hand to tweak her nipples. She moved her hands from his chest to play with her clit.

"Fuck!" she cried out and Daryl felt her tighten around him for a moment before she started to quiver.

"Come for me girl," he growled out. And as if by command she came, spasming around him. He pulled her down a few more times as she rode out her orgasm, then with a few frantic thrusts up into her, he spilled himself into her.

She collapsed onto his chest and they laid like that trying to catch their breaths. "Ya ok?" he huffed out pushing her hair to one side so he could almost see her face.

"Great," she sighed and slowly pulled herself off of him, making them both groan. "That was amazing," she said amazed at how right it felt to be with him.

"Mhm," Daryl hummed as she curled up next to him and he wrapped his arm around her. He knew he should put more clothes on in case anything heard them, but he couldn't bring himself to move from this moment. She placed her head on his chest and her hand rested over his heart as he pulled the damp blankets up over them. He could tell she was falling asleep and he knew that he would follow soon after. "Night Daryl," she muttered.

"Night Rory," he muttered as sleep tugged at him.

As she fell asleep she fought with herself. She knew that this wasn't a mistake, but how was she going to leave him after this? She didn't want to leave him. But she did want to leave the prison. She wanted to stay here, with him, just like this.

As she listened to the rain pelting the top of the tarp, she prayed the rain would never stop so they could stay here as long as they could.

What she didn't know was that Daryl was hoping for the same thing. He didn't want her to leave, he didn't think he could handle it if she left now. She was helping him to heal the part of him he thought was long dead, and if he was willing to admit it or not, he needed her as much as she needed him.

**(A/N – Soooo I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that you didn't think this was too soon or was rushed. I've been thinking about this chapter for some time and think it was the perfect timing. Let me know what you think, I wanted to make sure that I got another chapter out since I took so long to update. Special thanks to my reviewers! Keep it up! Tell me what you think of the story so far!)**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29:

It rained the entire next day, but neither complained. They did, however, agree that even if it was still raining tomorrow, they had to leave. The entire day they laid around and just enjoyed each other's company. Occasionally they traded light touches, she would sometimes turn her head and give him a light kiss, and he would randomly trace her skin with his fingers. They didn't really talk, and that was ok.

When they fell asleep that night, she knew it was her final chance to leave. She was torn between staying with Daryl and leaving to get away from the people that she would have to face the next day. While Daryl slept she fought to stop herself from tossing and turning. The rain was stopping and she knew she had to make a choice soon or be forced to go back to the prison.

Taking a steading breath, she shifted away from Daryl's side. "Where ya goin," he murmured sleepily.

"Bathroom," she whispered and kissed his forehead. He grumbled something and rolled onto his side. She pulled the blanket up over his shoulders and fought back the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. "Go on," he mumbled, "urry, up."

She smiled at his sleepy voice and got dressed. She grabbed her small bag and exited the tent. The moment she closed the tent, she let her tears fall. She walked normally until she knew he wouldn't be able to hear her, and then she broke into a run. It wasn't too far to her truck, but it was still going to be tough to get there. She was still sore in some places, and running just stressed her injuries. But she knew that Daryl would be waiting for her, and when she didn't come right back, he would come looking for her. She had to put a good amount of distance between them.

She cried as she ran and she tried her best not to think about Beth and Judith and Daryl and any of the other people that she had started to like. She welcomed to the pain from her injuries, she focused on it just to keep other thoughts out of her mind. When her hands touched her truck she was sobbing. She fumbled with the keys until she was able to unlock the truck. She stumbled getting in and her heart leaped fearing that Daryl had caught up with her. But when she looked over her shoulder, there was nothing but nature. She pulled the door shut behind her as a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a roll of thunder that covered the sound of her truck starting.

She threw the truck into drive and smashed her foot onto the gas pedal, spinning the tires before they caught enough friction to get her out and onto the road. She didn't slow down until the rain stopped and the sun had started to rise. She looked down and noticed that she was starting to run low on gas again and she frowned. She knew they hadn't put much in her truck, but still, she wished she had gotten further. She knew Daryl would be awake already and looking for her, and when he noticed her truck was gone, he would either go back to the prison or forget about her, or he would get a car and come looking for her.

Either way, she didn't want to be so close. She knew she wasn't strong enough to face him and walk away. He would somehow convince her to come back, and she couldn't.

She pulled over on the side of the road when she saw a few cars gathered together. She looked around, grabbed her weapons out of her pack and carefully got out of the truck and started looking around. She picked through the cars and found nothing but one bottle of water and a stale half gone pack of cigarettes. When she was done with the cars she walked a little bit down the road to see what else there was around.

About ten minutes or so into her walk, she started seeing houses that looked as if they had been empty for quite some time. She listened and looked around outside before walking up to the first house and knocked on the window. She waited, and when nothing moved inside, she opened the door and let herself in. She looked around, clearing each room as she went.

Once she had cleared the entire house she took a deep breath and plopped down in one of the chairs in one of the upstairs room. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. That was the first time she had realized how tired she was, and how sore her body was after last night.

Just thinking about what she had done, had tears threatening to come out again. She did her best to shrug them away, but she was too tired and too hungry to keep them away for much longer. She picked up one of the cans she had found, opened it, and did her best to eat it slowly.

Once she was done, she went downstairs and did her best to block off the doors and the windows before going back upstairs. She pushed the bed in front of the door and laid down, sighing the moment her head hit the pillow. She knew she would be asleep very soon, and she didn't fight it. She just prayed that she wouldn't dream.

Daryl had woken up when the thunder had rumbled through the sky. He turned and reached for her, thinking that she had come back and he just hadn't heard her over the rain. But when his hand touched nothing but empty bed he bolted up right and started getting dressed. His first thought was that something had happened to her when she left. He hardly had his shirt over his head as he ran from the tent.

He looked for her tracks and found them leading away from camp. At first he didn't think anything of it, but when they didn't stop right outside of camp, he started to think that something else was happening. He picked up his pace and readied his crossbow just in case. He slowed down once he got closer to the truck, and when he reached the area where they had left the truck, he stopped completely. She was gone. She wasn't taken. She wasn't hurt. She wasn't coming back. She was gone.

He took off running after the tire marks hoping that she had made it to the road and stopped and was sitting there waiting for him. But when his foot hit pavement, he knew she wasn't there. The rain had washed away what little tracks she had left, so he knew which direction she had gone in, but he didn't know how far away she had gone. He dropped to his knees. He thought he had gotten through to her. He thought that she believed him when he told her he was going to take care of her, protect her. She would've been ok when they went back to the prison. He would have made sure of it.

But she left.

He sat there for a long moment trying to figure out when she had planned this. He started to grow angry when he started thinking that she had planned this from the start. But, he knew it didn't matter when she had planned this. He needed to find her. She was still hurt and now she was alone. He wanted to make sure she would be ok. So, he was going to head back to the prison. He was going to talk to Carol and demand answers, then he was going to get on his bike and find her and bring her home.

The sun was setting when she woke up. She stretched and let her eyes adjust to the lighting. She placed her hand on her weapon making sure that it was still there before she got up and started walking around to get herself to wake up more. She listened and looked out the window several times to make sure that she was safe.

She thought about staying in the house overnight, but she knew that she needed to keep moving just in case Daryl was coming for her. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but she also knew she couldn't go back now.

She moved the bed and grabbed her things before looking out the windows and then leaving the house. She stayed in the shadows as she ran back to her truck. She stopped at the cars and managed to siphon gas out of one of the cars. She filled her truck with what she found and started it. She looked around one more time and only saw one walker. She pulled away from the side of the road and avoided the walker as she drove away. She wanted to put a good amount of distance between her and the prison tonight before she went back to sleep.

She knew she wasn't going to make it far with how tired she was. She had taken a good nap, but she was emotional and physically tired and driving had always made her fall asleep quickly.

When her eyes drifted shut a few hours later, while she was still driving, she knew it was time to pull over. If she wanted to or not. She pulled out a map and marked where she thought the prison should be and then started looking around to see where she was. When she had mapped out her travel, she saw that she was about a day or so away from the prison, and she decided that was a good enough start. She pulled the truck further off the side of the road and did her best to hide it in the tree line before getting out and locking herself in the back of the truck to try and get a good night sleep.

**(A/N – I'm sorry that this chapter is so short, but this is where I wanted to leave this chapter! And I didn't want to just add a bunch of words to make it longer… so I hope you like it! Either way! I'm excited for the Walking Dead to start tomorrow! Well today… anyway! Leave me a review and let me know what you think of the story! Thank you to all my followers and reviewers! Love you all!)**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

Violet opened up one of the cabinets and pulled out the last bit of cereal. She knew that today she was going to have to leave. There was no more food in this house, or any of the others around it. She had waited here for a few days now. She wasn't sure if she had stayed so long because she felt safe here, or because she was waiting for Daryl to show up and take her back.

But as she chewed her cereal and looked out the kitchen window, she knew that he wasn't going to come for her. She was on her own again. She wondered if anyone back at the prison thought about her. She wondered if Daryl ever thought about her anymore, because she could never get him out of her head.

She tossed the bowl into the sink and cringed at the sound that rang through the empty house. It was times like that when she realized how alone she was, and how much she hated being alone. At the same time, she knew that she might not be able to live comfortably with another group after everything that happened. But for right now, she was going to do the best she could on her own until she was able to get her head on straight. She was no good to anyone if her head was always somewhere else. That was how people died these days.

Packing up her things she took a look around the house to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. She nodded once and turned, leaving her safe feeling behind. She walked a block to her truck and climbed in. She pulled out onto the road and started driving.

She hadn't gone far on what little gas she had when she came to another small town. The first place she saw was a mechanic shop, and with fingers crossed, she parked her truck and headed inside.

When nothing came to the door when she knocked, she opened the door with her knife raised, and walked in. She instantly heard the low moaning coming from a back room. She looked around the main shop and then, when she found nothing useful, she decided that she would try to lure the walkers out of the back so that she could get inside.

She opened the back door and then, with her knife at the ready, she opened the door leading to the walkers. They shambled out, one by one, and made their way out the back door without even noticing she was hiding behind the door that had just freed them a moment ago.

She held her breath until all but one remained. It was wondering around the shop and she decided that instead of waiting longer and having the chance the others would wonder back in, she ran and closed the back door. The door shutting drew the attention of the walker that was still in the store, and she turned in time to dodge it's attack.

She jumped backwards and stumbled on a dented paint can as the walker continued to lunge at her. She managed to hide behind a shelf as the walker stood on the opposite side, trying to reach her through the shelf. She looked around to see the safest way out when she noticed that the shelf started to rock. She braced it with her hands, but the walker just started to push harder to try and reach her, causing the shelf to loom over her.

She grunted and pushed back making the shelf rock. She swore under her breath and gave one more good push making the shelf topple over and pin the walker to the ground with a loud crash. Her heart started to race as she looked around to see what could have been drawn in by the sound. Banging on the door made her jump when the walkers she had just let outside tried to get back in. She checked the door, then ran to the back to try and scavenge what she could before she had to leave.

With a trash bag full of things she might need, she headed for the front door only to stop when she heard people outside. She tried to see out the windows, but they were so smeared with dirt, she couldn't see through them. She quickly ducked behind a counter as the growling from the walkers outside stopped. Holding her breath she tried to hear the others, but their voices were to muffled to hear anything.

Then she heard a woman's voice yell out a command and then she heard the scuffle of a fight, probably between the walkers and the people. Seconds later she hears multiple people yelling at someone to 'let go,' but she couldn't hear why they wanted the person to let go. She crouched down lower with the yelling stopped and winced when someone knocked on the front door.

She heard them waiting before the door opened and footsteps started to come inside. She heard two people walk in and start looking around. Neither really said much as they checked out the area until they walked over to where the walker was pinned on the floor. Then one man started talking about the photos on the wall while the other walked closed to where she was hiding.

She knew there was no way she could take on both at the same time, but maybe if she was able to take one by surprise and use him as a hostage, she could get away. She took a deep breath and grasped her knife tighter in her hand before she jumped out from behind the counter as the man put his boot down where she could see him.

She moved her body so that she had her knife to his neck, but there was an arrow pointed at her face. "Girl?" Daryl said on a breath.

"Hey lady," the man said from the other side of the room, "We don't want any trouble."

"Daryl?" she whispered and slowly lowered her knife. Daryl dropped his crossbow and took one step quickly towards her, almost as if he was going to scoop her up into his arms, but then he stopped and just looked at her.

Her hair was tied back into a braid, but some had fallen down to frame her face. All the bruises that had been on her face and arms were gone from what he could see. And he wondered if the rest of her had healed up just as well. She looked beautiful standing there, a little hungry maybe, but he had to fight to not go to her and hold her.

"I…" she started, but she couldn't think of the right words to say.

"You two know each other?" the other man walked over to them, eyeing the two very carefully.

"Ya could say that," Daryl said not taking his eyes off her, "this is Bob."

She nodded at him but never looked away from Daryl. She could see the war going on in his eyes and knew she had hurt him when she left.

"I'm going to go see if Michonne and Ty need any help," Bob said stepping out.

"Daryl I…"

"Don't," he said turning away from her. It was harder to do than he wanted to admit.

"Just," she tried again reaching out for his arm.

"Ya fuckin' left!" he yelled turning and swinging his arm knocking something off the shelf. She flinched, but she didn't move away from him. "I told ya I could keep ya safe!" he said getting in her face.

"I know," she said reaching out for him again.

This time he didn't move away. "I looked for ya," he said as she stepped closer, "Ya didn't wait fer me. Ya just left. Didn't even fuckin' say bye," he said as she placed a hand on each side of his face and pulled his head down to her head so that their foreheads touched. He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry," she whispered closing her eyes and taking comfort in the touch that they had shared so many times before, "I waited in a town about half a day away from here. I kept hoping you would find me there. Every day I woke up and looked out the window, expecting you to be walking up the street. I stayed there longer than I should have. But I did wait for you. I wanted to say good bye, but I was afraid. I was afraid if you found me I wouldn't be able to walk away from you again."

"Why?" he asked opening his eyes at the same time she did. Those violet eyes that he thought he was never going to see again. He saw the tears in them and saw them glisten in the dim light that shown into the shop. "You know I couldn't stay there, not with everything that happened," she said still holding his face in her hands.

"No," he said, his hands coming up to rest on her arms holding her close, "Why didn't ya trust me?"

"Daryl," she trembled a little as she said his name, and his heart melted at the sound of it coming from her lips again, "I did. I do trust you. I just couldn't make you stop living your life so that you could baby sit me."

"Wanted ta take care of ya," he mumbled finally wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him.

"Missed you Dixon," she whispered into his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt him tremor and she held him tighter to her. He leaned down and picked her up and sat her on the top of the counter where she wrapped her legs around him and held him tighter. "Thought I lost ya," he said, his breath tickling her neck.

"I'm here," she said digging her nails into his vest with one hand while the other stroked his hair.

"Come back with me," he said pulling back a little to look at her.

"Daryl…"

"Our people got sick, started dyin'," he said trying to get her to change her mind, "We need yer help. That's why we're here. Tryin' ta get meds to save 'em."

"I'll help you," she said, "But that doesn't mean that I'm going to stay."

He nodded once and then kissed her. Hard. She was shocked at first, but she kissed him back. His fingers dug into her scalp while his other hand dug into her hip pulling her closer to him. She tightened her legs around his hips and felt him rub against her, making her moan into his kiss. She threaded his fingers into his hair, her other hand clawed at his bare arm.

They only broke the kiss to breathe. "Missed ya girl," he said trying to catch his breath. She smiled at him at kissed his forehead once before he slowly stepped back and let her get down.

"Ya better?" he asked motioning to her old injuries.

"I'm good," she said smiling and stretching out a little. Her injuries were still there, but they were almost healed, and they were good enough that she was able to survive and do what she needed to do with them not bothering her, too much.

"Truck?" he asked when he realized he hadn't seen it outside.

"Across the street," she smiled at him as he nodded and they walked outside together, not holding hands, but their arms touched as they walked together.

Everyone was waiting for them outside when they finally came out. "Violet," Michonne said with a small smile and a nod.

She nodded back and then looked over to Tyreese and then to Bob before looking back up to Daryl. "Found a battery," he said holding one up for the car out back, "She had a truck too."

They all looked back to her and she avoided their looks by heading over to the car and opening the hood. Daryl and Bob followed her over while Machonne and Ty went to talk about something and scope out the area a little more. Violet helped Daryl work on the car while Bob confessed how he thought that Zack dying in the store was his fault because of his drinking problem. Daryl convinced him otherwise and Rory thought about how Daryl had so many sides of him that he never let people see. She smiled at him while he worked, but stopped when she saw Bob watching her.

"Start it," Daryl said and Bob climbed in and they all breathed a sigh of relief when the car started.

Daryl called over to Ty and Machonne and they climbed into the car with Ty driving, while Rory and Daryl walked to her truck and Daryl jumped in the driver's side. They closed the door and followed after the other three in the car.

"We lost people," he said after a few moments.

"I'm sorry," she said turning to look at him, "I wanted to stay with you. But I knew you couldn't leave them. They are your family. I could never ask you to do that. Just like you shouldn't ask me to stay. It wasn't good for me there. You know that."

"I talked to Carol," he said without looking at her.

"What did she say?" she asked curious.

"She admitted everything when I asked," he said his hand tensing on the wheel. Rory nodded and looked out the window. "Said she did it ta keep us safe," he scoffed, "told her that was a bunch of bull shit. Ya weren't gonna hurt no one. We got into it. Told her if I found ya, I was bringin' ya back and she was gonna apologize. After my first day out lookin' fer ya she agreed."

"Really?" she asked looking back at him.

"She ain't happy 'bout it," he said glancing at her, "I told ya I'd protect ya."

"I know," she said and placed her hand on his shoulder. He moved his hand up and placed it on her hand for just a split second before placing it back on the wheel.

She smiled and pulled out the pack of cigarettes out that she had found earlier and handed him one. He nodded his thanks to her and she lit her cigarette while Daryl dug out his lighter and lit his own. That followed the other car in silence while they smoked and listened to whatever CD Rory had put on before. She laid her head back against the head rest and looked over at Daryl before she closed her eyes. She felt him place his warm hand on her knee and she smiled as the drive lulled her to sleep.

She was woken up by Daryl squeezing her knee moments later. "Here," he said turning off the truck and getting out. She stretched and yawned before exiting the truck and going to take her place standing next to Daryl.

"Ready?" Daryl asked looking at everyone that had come to stand with them. They nodded as they took in the veterinary college.

**(A/N – Thank you for reading! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! I liked writing it! And as I wrote this I was watching the marathon and waiting for the NEW season to start! Ah! So excited! I hope that you like this chapter and PLEASE leave a review letting me know what you think! It really helps me to crank out more chapters! REVIEWS! Lol enjoy your Sundays!)**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

As they stood outside looking at the building she had to wonder why she was risking her neck again for people that she didn't really know. She thought about the few people she did know, but were they really a good enough reason for her to risk dying for? She sighed and looked over at Daryl and the others before she turned and they started walking into the building.

They stayed in tight formation as they checked out the building for any potential threats. They even did well as they searched the inside and found very little trouble. That is, before everything went to shit.

She was pissed. The hair on the back of her neck and arms was standing on end. Her blood was still boiling and her head felt like it was going to explode. Rory didn't say a damn word on the way back to the prison, for the most part. She couldn't believe they had almost died for alcohol.

She sat crossed legged in the front passenger seat, her arms crossed over her chest and her back facing Daryl. She was staring out the window, well more so glaring than staring. Daryl and her rode separate from the others, but there was still no talking. There was so much to be said, they both knew it, but right now they just didn't know where to start.

They were only a few minutes away when Daryl lit up a cigarette. He held the box out to her and nudged her arm with it when she didn't notice him. She turned to him and he stiffened when he saw the look in her eyes. She closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath before opening her eyes again and reaching out to take one. She lit up the cigarette and took a long deep drag before letting it go.

This time when she looked over to him he didn't see the same things in her eyes. He tucked the box back into his pocket and chewed at the dry skin on his thumb. "Ya stayin?" he finally asked.

She looked over at him and then back out the window. "I don't know," she said, almost in a whisper.

"What's not to know," Daryl asked feeling a little aggravated.

"It's not that simple Daryl," she said not looking at him.

"It is," he said looking over at her again.

"Daryl," she sighed putting her elbows on her knees and cradling her head in her hands.

"Don't try ta make this somethin' it ain't," Daryl growled looking back from the road to her and back again.

"I'm not," she said tilting her head to look at his profile. She could see the anger in him and she wished that she could make it better, but for both of them. She just couldn't see herself being happy and stable in that prison. She had done well on her own, sure she had missed him, but she healed up on her own. Both mentally and physically. She was still constantly on alert and checking over her shoulder to make sure that she was safe, but she felt safer out in the woods than she had ever felt in the prison.

She shook her head before she said, "I never really went far."

"What?" he asked not really caring to pay much more attention to her.

They day she had left him and cut a hole straight through him. He didn't really know what it was that made him feel that way, so he blamed the fact that he had finally let someone in and she had left, he hadn't been able to save her. He didn't want that feeling to come back again.

"From the prison," she said softly, "from you."

Daryl froze. He didn't look at her. He didn't say anything. More than that he didn't believe her. "No," he said.

"What?" she asked shifting her position so her feet where now on the floor and she was looking straight at him.

"I looked for ya," he said still refusing to look at her.

"You looked for me where you thought I would be," she said putting her hand on his shoulder. She expected him to flinch away from her, so when he did, it didn't hurt her so bad. But he didn't move away from her as much as she thought he would and that gave her a little hope that she hadn't hurt him to the point he would never forgive her.

"I never went very far from the prison. I was always just outside the fence. I watched you go out on scout trips. I watched the fights. I killed off walkers when there started to be too many. I watched more and more people come into the prison."

"Bull shit," Daryl interrupted her.

"What?"

"I would've seen yer tracks," he said glancing over at her.

"No," she said with a small smile, "I had a good teacher to show me how to be careful. And like I said, you weren't really looking for me here."

She could tell he was trying hard not to roll his eyes at her. She smiled at him and then grew serious. "It means a lot to me that you kept looking for me. I honestly thought, more so hoped, that you would've given up a lot sooner."

"Ya didn't want me to find ya?" he asked and she could hear the anger starting to grow in his voice again.

"Not really," she said but then kept going before he could interrupt her again, "I wanted you to be able to move on from me. I knew I was holding you back and causing so much trouble with everyone. I just wanted things to be easier for you. I wanted to be able to give peace back to you and your family. I'm sorry that it hurt when I left, but I just wanted you to be happy and safe."

"Ya," he said and she could tell he was shutting himself down from her.

"Daryl," she said moving closer to him and placing her head on his shoulder. This time he didn't move away, but he didn't relax when she touched him either. "Leaving you that night was the hardest thing I've had to do in a long time. I really wanted you to come with me, but there was no way I was going to ask you to leave your family."

She heard him sigh a heavy breath, and when she thought that the conversation was done, he placed his hand on her knee and squeezed it. "Ya ain't ever doin that again," he said without even looking at her.

"Daryl I," she started.

"No," was the last thing that was spoke between them as they pulled up to the prison.

Daryl felt her take a deep breath and knew that things were not going to be easy. But there was no way he was going to escape from his life again before he could figure out why it had hurt so much the first time she had left, and what she was doing to him every time they were together. He couldn't explain it now, but he knew for damn sure that he was going to figure it out. They just had to get through the shit at the prison and things would be ok.

_(A/N – Hey everyone! Sorry that this took so long! Things have been SUPER crazy lately… Not to mention I got engaged! I've been planning the wedding and trying to keep up with work so getting on here to write had proven to be a tad bit difficult! I hope that I can get some more chapters in on the few free days I have, but please bear with me! Let me know what you think! All the reviews and pms really pushed me to get back on and writing!) _


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32:

_(A/N: IMPORTANT! Just wanted to let you know that we are skipping the attack on the prison. Not only do I not want to bore you by telling you everything you saw if you watched the episode, but I really don't see a point in writing it when all it will be is a fight scene that I hadn't wanted to change anyway. The only difference is that Daryl, Beth and Rory are together. I hope you like the story! Review at the end please!) _

She sat around the fire with her head in her hands. She knew she shouldn't have come back. Things had gone to hell and there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it. Hershel was dead. So many others were dead. And the ones that she hadn't seen die, God only knew where they were. She almost prayed that they were ok, but at this point, she didn't really believe that there was a God out there to care or hear her prayers. So instead she just wished because hoping was almost as bad as praying.

Daryl and Beth hadn't said anything since they left the prison. Not that Rory had spoken up either. There just was nothing to say anymore.

They had walked through the forest, almost like the walking dead that surrounded them. There was hardly a difference between them and the corpses that had become so familiar she almost couldn't imagine them not being around. Part of her wanted to be like them, to just die. But she knew she had to keep going. She didn't know why, but a part of her would never let her give up completely. When she glanced at Beth and Daryl, she guessed they felt the same.

It wasn't long before Daryl stood and walked off with his bow. The two girls didn't move to follow him, and they didn't speak to each other. They just sat in silence waiting for him to come back.

A small amount of time went by before Daryl was back with what they were to eat for dinner. Had it been any other day she would have turned her head away from the snake. But everyone knew they had no food and they would be lucky to find anything better than what they were eating now. And they all knew luck was not on their sides lately.

Daryl looked up at Beth, and then he glanced over to Rory. She sat there slightly back further than him and Beth, and she never once looked up at them. He wondered if she hated him now. He had promised her safety and a place to live without fear for a while. But he hadn't been able to keep that promise. He hated himself for not being able to keep her happy.

He took the last bite of his food and threw the bones aside making Beth jump a little at the sound, but Rory didn't even lift her head. She finished eating and set her things down before taking her knife and heading off to make sure they were still safe. Daryl huffed out a sigh and leaned back to clean his arrow that he had used to kill the snake.

Rory hadn't been gone long when she heard a commotion back at camp. Sighing and trying to keep her mind from thinking of anything, she walked back to where she had left them. She found Beth having a one sided fight with Daryl about doing something, anything but sitting her. Rory tried to not scoff at the girl and roll her eyes as she walked by the two.

When Beth wasn't getting anywhere with Daryl, she came to Rory who just glanced up at her before turning away. She wasn't doing this. She was tired. She liked Beth, considered her a good friend, but right now, she wouldn't be able to handle the situation so well.

"We aren't dead," Beth said before storming off and saying something about a drink. Rory heard Daryl sigh and she knew that they were going after Beth.

Rory stood quickly and grabbed her things then followed Daryl and Beth to where ever Beth thought they were going.

The rest of the day went pretty much the same way. Daryl and Rory didn't say much and just followed Beth and hoped that she would be done with whatever mission she thought she was on soon.

Every now and then Daryl would look over to Rory who was always two steps behind him. She never looked at him, or at Beth. He saw she focused on her feet, but she was aware of anything and everything that was happening around her. Other than Beth's occasional rant which he notice she ignored.

They stopped shortly outside a golf club and this is where Beth decided she was going to drink. "I'll keep watch out here," Rory said and Daryl was almost shocked to hear her voice. He nodded to her as Beth was already making her way inside.

"Stay safe," Daryl said and Rory gave him a halfhearted smile.

Rory walked around the club once before finding a tree that gave her a pretty good view of the club. She climbed up skillfully and stretched out on a wider branch. She looked up at the sky and tried to remember a time before all this when she was happy.

Her life hadn't been perfect. Neither had her family. But it hadn't been a bad life, and if it wasn't for Daryl, she would want it back. She knew it sounded stupid because she hadn't known him for all that long, but she knew that her life wouldn't be the same without him.

In the short time they had spent together she knew that they were brought together for a reason. She wasn't sure what that reason was yet, but she knew there had to be one. And knowing that if the world never came to an end they would never had met each other, a bitter taste grew in her mouth. She didn't want to know a world without Daryl.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a commotion coming from the club, and she almost jumped down to go figure it out. But she knew better. She couldn't leave them exposed from the outside. If no one came out or signaled her in the next few minutes, then she would make the choice to go in or not. But for now she was going to sit still. She knew that Daryl could take care of himself and Beth. She didn't want to accidently get caught in the crossfire if it was just a few walkers anyway.

When she had counted out six and a half minutes, she saw a reflection from a window and saw Daryl was just inside letting her know that they were safe. How he knew she would be there was beyond her, but she gave him a wave back. She leaned her head back, not closing her eyes, but relaxing just a little. For a few moments they were safe. Things were ok and she could let a small portion of her wall down and just enjoy the sun on her face.

When she heard glass shatter she sighed. There never was going to be another dull moment around this man and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. She was swinging down from the last branch just as Daryl and Beth marched up to the tree. She looked down at him and he held out his arms for her to jump to him.

She didn't need him to catch her, but she would take the excuse just to be in his arms and feel something for a few moments.

So, she let go and fell.

The fall seemed a little bit longer than it should've been, but then she was met by his solid arms and chest. She closed her eyes for the briefest of moments and inhaled deeply before he let her down. She looked up at him, and that was the first time since they had left the prison that they had really looked at each other.

She saw the hurt and frustration in his eyes and she was sure he could see the same in her, but in that moment they both knew that eventually they would be ok.

She arched an eyebrow at him before looking at Beth who looked like she had been crying. "Ain't gonna let her first drink be no peach schnapps," he said before storming away. Beth walked up to follow him and Rory gently placed an arm around Beth's shoulders. Beth looked up at her and placed her arm around Rory's side for a moment as they started to walk.

The girls didn't hold onto each other long before they let go. But it was all they needed in that moment. It wasn't time for them to break down. There wasn't much time for that anymore, but they needed to be strong for just a little bit longer. And knowing that they still had each other was the bit of strength they needed.

They didn't need to walk long to get to where Daryl had wanted them to go and when she saw the cabin a few painful memories flashed in her eyes.

Daryl didn't miss the pain that flashed in her eyes and he wondered for a moment if she couldn't relate to him, and they prayed that she couldn't. He didn't even want to imagine her in a world he had lived in growing up. He walked up the steps and made himself at home as Beth looked around. He watched as Rory walked in, he saw the spark she was just getting back in her eyes disappear before she waved to them and walked into the back room to find a spot to lay down and rest.

Daryl wasn't going to push the issue right now. There were things Beth needed first and he was going to make sure that the young girl was ok.

Rory was woken from her sleep by Daryl yelling at Beth. She groaned and rolling over and getting out of bed she decided that she would let them work it out. She walked out in the living room and went to one of the windows when there was no more shouting. Curious, she looked out the window and saw Beth hugging a crying Daryl from behind. She quickly pulled the curtain closed and moved away from the window. Not only did she feel as if she saw a private moment that she shouldn't have, but she felt jealousy grow in her stomach.

She walked back into the bedroom and laid down as she tried to push the image out of her mind. Not that it worked out all too well for her.

When she was unable to fall back to sleep, she just watched the shadows on the wall move as the sun set. It was getting late and the two still hadn't come back inside. She hated herself for wondering what they were doing and the fact that she was getting mad at Daryl when she had no right to be.

They weren't together. They didn't really have anything. She had been the one who had left Daryl and she wondered if by doing that she had driven Daryl right to Beth. She couldn't blame him for that. She hadn't even said so much as a good bye to him.

Right when she was about to get up and give up on relaxing she heard the front door open and shut. "Girl," she heard Daryl's voice call out for her. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and sat up. A second later he walked through the bedroom door and looked at her. She was sitting on the bed looking at the wall and for some reason he didn't know she seemed pissed off.

Writing it off because he thought it had something to do with how today was going he walked over to her. "We're leaving," he said and when she didn't look at him he was sure something was going on in that little head of hers.

"It's late," she said without looking at him.

"Come on," he said holding his hand out to her. She turned and looked at it, then slowly looked up at him before standing up on her own and walking towards the distinctive sound of liquid splashing on the floor in the other room.

When she entered the room she saw Beth with one gas can and another sitting on the floor. Not questioning it she turned and walked out of the house and into the tree line. She watched Daryl and Beth's silhouettes through the windows before the walked outside still splashing gas on the ground.

After they had made their way out of the house they turned to look at Rory. She turned her head and looked out into the forest looking for anything they should be warned about. Then flames went up behind her. She turned and looked as the entire house was engulfed in flames. Daryl and Beth were standing with their middle fingers up in the air.

Rory couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes this time as she pushed herself off of the tree and started walking away, and it wasn't long before she heard their footsteps coming up behind her.

_(A/N – Thanks for reading! I really hope you are enjoying the story so far and I hope I don't disappoint you! Let me know what you think and shoot me a review!)_


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